


Running Through my Mind

by may_dayy



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Almost Everyone is Gay TBH, Bisexual Jean Kirstein, Eventual Smut, Gay Eren Yeager, Gay Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), M/M, Nonbinary Hange Zoë, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sexual Tension, Track and Field, but not really, but yes?, eren is a trackstar, ereri, everyone is besties, gay slurs, high school romance, slow burn??, zeke and eren have the same mother
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:35:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29493672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/may_dayy/pseuds/may_dayy
Summary: In result of a deal made with Hange, Levi joins the Track and Field team for a week. He gets more than he bargained for when he meets the teams star runner, an overly cocky brat, who just so happens to have more of an effect on him that he realizes.
Relationships: Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Levi Ackerman/Eren Yeager, Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25
Collections: Eren/Levi





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is my first Eren/Levi book and I’m really excited for it. I have a couple of chapters written already so I’ll probably have those up soon. 
> 
> Not much I can say on this chapter, so let’s get in to it :)

He didn't exactly know what got him here, only the fact that he was here and there was no backing out.

Okay, that was a lie. He knew why he was, he just also knew there was no way out of this. Or, maybe there was, but he knew if he did leave, he would never hear the end of it from Hange.

_8 hours ago_

"Come on, Levi," Hange begged as they pulled on the ravens sleeve, "You don't even have to be consistent with it."

Levi growled in irritation as the two walked through the school courtyard that, in times like this where they were late, was way too big. Being late had never been a problem for them before, but with Hange’s car breaking down and Levi not having a license, walking was their only option. "Fucking hell Hange, no. I don't run and you know this."

He would have shut them up had it been anyone else, but Hange only tugged his sleeve harder. "You don't have to run! It's called 'Track and Field' for a reason. There's discus, shot put, not to mention-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there." He stopped walking, Hange furrowing their brows and slowly letting go of his shirt. "I don't know what the fuck either of those are so why would I change my mind."

Neither of them kept walking, despite being almost thirty minutes late to class. Hange didn't care for going in until they got through to Levi, and Levi just wanted to shut them up so he wouldn't have to deal with it all day.

"Think of it like this," Hange began to explain with hand movements. "Imagine you have a frisbee and you're throwing that frisbee to see how far it goes. Now imagine that, but the frisbee is made of medal. That's discus."

"Mhm," Levi hummed in disinterest, giving a slight nod.

"Shot put is where you have a really heavy metal ball, and you're throwing it as far as possible."

"Right."

He was listening, but he just wasn't interested. None of it sounded intriguing to him, and he sure as hell wasn't going to settle for running. "Now pole vault, it's—" Hange stopped, sending Levi a dumbfounded expression. "Do I really have to explain pole vault."

Hange being his best friend, he knew exactly what it was. They did pole vault themselves and dragged Levi to enough meets for him to know what it was. He put on his best 'fake interested' face and gasped. "Wait, is that where you have that long ass pole and you jump really high?" Hange nodded proudly, feeling like they were finally getting somewhere with their best friend.

The raven's face dropped, "yeah I'm not doing that shit." He brushed past Hange and continued making his way to the doors, remembering that they still were late. 

"Levi," Hange groaned, stomping after their best friend. "Alright look," they began as they stepped onto the stairs, "I'll make you a deal." Levi stopped on the step he was on and turned around.

"I'm listening."

"You go to practice all this week just to see if you like it. If you don't end up liking it, I'll pay for that tattoo you're wanting."

Levi began to take it under consideration, knowing there was no way in hell he would end up staying. However, there was also no way in hell he would go to practice the whole week. "Why everyday? Why not just today?"

Hange shook their head, "Uh-uh. Nada. No. You can't judge something off of a first impression. You're a pessimist and you'll end up quitting before practice is even over it I just make you go today."

The shorter of the two rolled his eyes, "And what if- wait, I'm not a pessimist."

"Levi Ackerman, you are definitely a pessimist, but stop trying to change the subject!" They were getting too anxious. "Will you do it?"

Levi stared at them, contemplating what he should have already said no to. "How will you know I'll even make it on the team?" Hange laughed.

"Nonsense darling, anyone who comes to the practice is on the team. Now-" They stopped, putting on their most serious face. "Will you do it?"

How bad could it be? He could tend to one of the easier things without having to jump hurdles and shit, and if he didn't like it? Well that's a free tattoo. He took one more moment to stare at his best friend before he rolled his eyes. "Fine. But-"

"Oh Levi thank you, thank you, thank you!" Hange exclaimed, running up to and throwing their arms around the raven. "You're not going to regret it!"

"I already do," he mumbled, trying his best to get out of their grasp. "Now get the fuck off of me." They did so and took a step back, still failing to contain their excitement. 

"Okay so practice starts at four, but everyone is usually out there ten minutes after the bell rings. Maybe if you come out early, I can introduce you to some people!" They said, with too much excitement for Levi's liking.

"Mhm. Slight problem, Hange. I don't have any workout clothes and-"

"Way ahead of you, bud," they cut off, slinging their book bag to the front of them and digging into it. Levi only stared with furrowed brows until seconds later, Hange pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a black muscle shirt that belonged to him.

Levi grabbed the clothes, jutting his head out and keeping his brows knitted together. "How the fuck did- you came prepared?"

"Sure did."

"Huh. I don't suppose you brought any shoes though, right?" He stuck his leg out and pointed to his black combat boots, "I can't exactly run in-" 

Before he could finish, Hange had pulled a pair of his old sneakers out of their bag and shoved them in his arms, making the shorter of the two stare at his best friend dumbfounded. He wasn't that surprised though, stealing his clothes wasn't the most abnormal thing Hange has done.

"Alright, come on!" They said, grabbing Levi's arms and pulling him up the stares and to the door. "Don't want to be late!"

As if they weren't already.

**

Levi stood at the fence, staring up ahead of him. The track was bigger than he thought it'd be. He saw there were people pretty much everywhere, whether it was in the middle on the grassy part, or on the actual track, He was too busy watching people get supplies out to even see his best friend approach him.

"So you made it," they teased, leaning on the other side of the fence. Levi shot her a glare. "Fuck off, Hange."

They placed their hand over their heart. "So cold, Levi. So cold. Now," they said, opening the gate which was conveniently right beside them, "come in. I want to introduce you to everyone."

Levi rolled his eyes before stepping inside, and he knew this was the moment he couldn't go back. All he could do is hope not everyone had the personality of his best friend, he already dealt with it enough with one person.

"Berty! Reiner! Annie!" Hange yelled, gaining the attention of a tall slender boy with dark hair, a buff blonde guy, and a rather toned female with blonde hair. They stopped doing their stretches when they heard the voice. 

"Hange, for the last time, stop calling me Berty. It doesn't sound right." The dark hair boy complained. Hange only laughed.

"Levi, this is Bertolt, Reiner, and Annie. Bertolt is one of the fastest on the team, his long legs giving him the upper hand. Reiner excels in shot put, hell, he could even throw Annie the distance he does that ball. Speaking of, this is Annie. One of our best runners."

"Hange you know that's not true," Annie said, looking around the track. "Everyone here is amazing."

"I know, I know," they answered. "Anywho, guys this is Levi, my best friend. I asked him to come and to my surprise, he actually did." Levi sent them a daring glare.  
"Okay, okay," they continued. "I begged him but he ended up saying yes so please tell him he's gonna love it here. Please?"

Reiner simply nodded. "Sure. It's hot as hell and sometimes we work later than we should, but everyone on the team is great, like, one big family."

"Agreed," Bertolt added in.

Hange smiled and excused themselves, pulling Levi away to meet new people. Hange led them to a spot on the grassy part in the middle where three more people sat. One of the boys had ash blonde hair, one was half bald, and the other was a girl with brown hair tied into a high ponytail.

"Hey Hange, who's the new kid?" The ash male asked. Levi glared at Hange.

"Kid?"

They muttered a 'calm down' to him before turning back to the three students. "Levi, this is Jean, Connie and Sasha. The two boys are also great runners, Sasha does pole vault with me."

"Not as good, though," Sasha threw in before chugging her water.

"Oh, hush. Now what are y'all doing on the ground, if coach comes out and sees y'all slacking and that's push-ups for your asses. Do you want that?" They all simultaneously shook their head.

"Didn't think so. Get up lazies," Hange spat, but not in a way that would have sounded rude or offensive, but in a way that sounded like friendly teasing. Levi began to think he was rubbing off of his best friend.

Hange pulled Levi away once again, bringing him to four more girls who stood conversing, standing right where the track met the grass.

"Hey, ladies!" Hange cheered, skipping up to the four of them and dragging Levi along with them. The four girls turned to face the two, smiling when they saw who it was.

"Hey Hang- Oh!" One of the girls began but cut off when they saw Levi there, "is this the best friend?"

Hange nodded, Levi sending them a confused look and the girl catching sight of his expression. "She talks about you a lot. All good things, though." Levi continued to stare at his best friend.

"Better fucking be."

The girl nervously laughed and with that, Levi turned back to get a look at all of them. The one who addressed him stood on the end. She had short, wavy, greyish blonde hair and bangs than stopped a little past her eyebrows. The girl next to her was shorter than her, shorter than Levi as well, and she had long blonde hair that was tied into a low ponytail. The girl beside her was taller than all of them, with tanned skin, dark hair, and freckles. Last was the girl who knelt down in front of them, short blonde hair with an undercut.

"Levi, meet Hitch, Christa, Ymir, and Nanaba. Aka, the core four. You'll most likely always see these four together except when they're doing their events," Hange explained. 

Levi eyed the girls, "you guys don't go the same thing?"

Christa giggled, "Oh god no. Ymir runs, and does a pretty good damn job at it. Don't get me started and her hurdle jumps."

The tall girl wrapped her arm around the blonde, "Thank you, sweets." Levi stared at Hange with confusion written on his face. He knew girls were close like this, but his face still asked Hange for clarification. He got it when they nodded.

"Anyways," Christa continued, "Hitch throws shot put, and I do pole vault with Hange, along with Sasha. Nanaba here does discus. She's the best one to throw it too."

Nanaba scoffed from her spot where she stayed squatted down. "I'm the only one to throw it, Chris."

"That's why you're the best."

"Wait," Levi spoke up, eyeing Nanaba, "you're seriously the only one to throw it?" She nodded, confused on why it was so surprising. "Damn. Is it that bad?" He asked, and Hange face palmed themselves.

"Of course its not bad," Nanaba retorted. "It's just people who don't run usually try pole vault. They end up liking it and forgot all about everything else. I however, fell in love with discus."

"Hey," Hitch threw in, putting her hands on her hips. "We did not end up liking pole vault at first. Probably busted our asses about a hundred times before we could get the hang of it." Christa chuckled and agreed.

Once they were finished with the conversation, Hange grabbed Levi once more and pulled him over to the fence that separated the track from the bleachers. "There's our favorite supporter!" they shouted. A boy with somewhat long blonde hair turned around, as well as a pale girl with shoulder length black hair.

"Hange!" The boy called out as they approached the two.

"Levi," Hange said, "this is Mikasa and Armin. Mikasa runs, and is probably one of the fastest in the world. Armin here isn't on the team, but he likes to watch our practices and support the team the best he can. We still sort of consider him on the team, just, not like that."

Armin smiled and nodded. Mikasa looked as if she was about to speak up when a boy with reddish blonde hair approached them.

"Hey Floch, where's Eren?" Armin asked.

"Hey Armin," the red head, now known as Floch, replied, "he was on the phone with his mom. Sounded important."

Levi couldn't help but notice the worried look on Mikasa's face when he said that. He brushed it off when Hange spoke up. "Kay so we're gonna go wait around, you guys good?" 

The three of them nodded and returned to their conversation when Hange and Levi walked off.  
"Who's Eren?" Levi asked as they made their way to the middle of the field. Hange stopped.

"You seriously don't know Eren? Eren Jaeger?"

Levi furrowed his brows, "am I supposed to?"

"Uh, duh," she nodded, "He's our best runner. Surely you've seen him around or heard his name on the intercom at school, right?" Levi thought about it. He never really payed attention to the people in school, let alone the people on their sports teams. Deciding to give it no more thought, he shrugged and walked off.

"I bet he's a dick," The raven said casually as they wondered around the field.

"Why would you say that?"

Levi shrugged. "If he's that good he probably has too much pride. I bet he's one cocky mother—"

"Levi." The shorter of the two looked over at Hange, who was tilting their head. "We don't talk down on our teammates." Levi scoffed, turning back away.

"Didn't sound like you disagreed with what I said."

"I don't," Hange said. "Eren has his moments. He does tend to get overly cocky and sometimes aggressive, he's not that bad. Just, dedicated I guess."

"Sounds like a brat," Levi muttered. Hange was about to say something back when suddenly everyone was yelling around them. They caught a glimpse of everyone running towards the gate, the raven not exactly sure what all the commotion was about.

"Please don't tell me they're all excited over that Eren kid," he said in annoyance. A smile crept on Hange's face as they grabbed their best friends arm.

"Of course not, this could only mean one thing." And with that, Levi was being pulled to where all the excitement was taking place. They were approaching the group, him still not being able to tell why everyone was so happy.

"Hange what the f-" he stopped when he finally saw the reason: a familiar tall blonde man with bushy eyebrows. "Are you fucking kidding me. Erwin, what the hell are you doing here?" Hange let go of Levi so he could step up to the unexpected guest.

"Hello to you too, Levi," Erwin spoke. Like Hange, Erwin was one of Levi's best friends. They met through Hange when he was in seventh grade, Erwin being in ninth at the time, and stayed close ever since. "I'm the substitute coach. Sometimes I watch on days the actual coach is here, but since he's not here—"

"We can do whatever we want!" Sasha interrupted, far too excited over the blonde males presence. Erwin deadpanned her.

"Now we all know that is not true. I still have to work you guys out, I'm just not going send you off to do push-ups over little shit." Even with that, the group seemed overly hype about the substitute coach, making Levi imagine how bad the real one must be. Without giving it any more though, he walked up to Erwin, leaning on the gate.

"So what, you graduate two years ago and decide you're still not over this place?" The raven teased, earning a chuckle from the blonde.

"Nah, I like helping all I can around here. But what about you?" Levi furrowed his brows.

"What about me?"

"After all those years of trying to get you on the team, and now look at you. Who's to blame?"

The shorter male pointed to Hange who was too busy in a conversation with Sasha to notice. "Blame fucking shitty glasses. Promised me a new tattoo if I didn't like it. Let's just say, I'm getting that tattoo."

The blonde male rolled his eyes playfully and stepped inside the gate. "As much as I would love to finish this conversation, I really need to get them going." He stopped, ready to address the group. "Listen up everyone! Go ahead and- wait, where's Eren?"

"Right here sir!" a voice called out from behind them. Levi, who stood next to Erwin, turned around to see who the voice belonged to.

And to say he was taken aback would be an understatement.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and Eren meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are much appreciated <3 I just want to know how I’m doing so far, it being my first fic and all
> 
> Also the chapters will get longer Im just trying to get the story set up and everything !

Levi could only stare as the figure ran towards the group. The brunet boy, who he presumed was Eren, was shirtless, showing off a well toned six pack that Levi couldn't seem to tear his gaze from. Everyone had turned as Eren approached the group, Levi trying to catch a glimpse of if anyone was just as in awe as he was. They weren't, which only led him to believe this was a normal thing.

"Sorry I'm la—" He began to explain, but stopped when he saw Levi. "Who's this?" Before the shorter male could introduce himself, Hange beat him to it.

"Eren this is Levi, my best friend. As of today, he's apart of the team."

"Temporarily," Levi threw in. Hange only side eyed him in response. Up close, Levi could see Eren had longer hair that tied around in a low bun, some strands falling past his face. The brunet squinted his eyes for a moment, examining Levi. Anyone else would have blushed at the sight of Eren staring them down, Levi however, was not anyone. Eren was pretty, yes, but he wasn't one of the fangirls he bet the boy had. 

"Tch, is there something on face? The fuck are you staring at?" Eren's eyes widened and he snickered. By the looks on the ravens face, it was clear as day he was about to say something again. Luckily, Erwin came to the rescue.

"Okay, everyone, you know the drill. Give me two laps." The group groaned simultaneously as they set off on the track, Hange grabbing Levi and him instinctively copying their movements.

"You heard the man."

"What the fuck, Hange," he snapped. "I'm not even going to be running."

They laughed. "Doesn't matter darling, this is warmup for everyone." Levi rolled his eyes and sighed, running at Hange's pace, which was more considered a jog.

"Fucking hell."

They ran their two laps, not exactly the last ones to finish but because of Hange slowing down, they weren't far from it. Levi could have ran faster but he deemed it best to stay by Hange's side, so it didn't bother him. No, it didn't bother him at all.

What bothered him was the smug look Eren had on his face as he passed them and finished, while Levi and Hange were just starting on their second one.

Once everyone gathered back around, Erwin dismissed everyone else to their designated spots while the runners stayed. 

"Hange, come here!" Sasha yelled, already running to what Levi presumed was the pole vault area. He glanced over at his best friend, them looking over as well.

"Just pick one. Give them a chance." And with that, they were off. Levi cursed under his breath before he walked on the field, the choice suddenly not seeming like a choice anymore. He set off towards the discus area until he heard a voice behind him.

"Levi, right?" He turned around and was met with Eren jogging up to him, in the same way he had earlier. The brat hadn't bothered to put a shirt on, either. 

Levi shrugged, "what's it to you?" The tall brunet smirked and came to a stop, resting his hands on his hips.

"I like to know who my teammates are. So, I take it you're not running?" Levi shook his head.

"Nah, not my thing." A lie but not at the same time. Levi was fit, not a doubt. He didn't spend a lot of his time working out but it was thrown in his routine every now and then. He would find himself going on jogs, so technically he was a runner, just not the way Eren was. The brunet had long legs to assist him, Levi did not. 

"Yeah, I could tell," Eren teased, causing Levi to arch his brow. _I dare the brat to throw in a short joke._ The taller of the two took in his confused expression and continued. "I passed you, remember? 

_Ah, so he's cocky._

"Tch, please. That was not me at full speed," he argued. Not even an hour here and the teams star runner was already working his last nerve.

"Right," Eren said, hint of sarcasm present in his voice. "Anyways, you decide on what you're going to do? Since, you know, runnings out of the deal." Levi figured Eren was trying to pick at him more with that last sentence, but he wouldn't give the boy the reaction he wanted.

"Yeah, I'm doing the frisbee shit with Nany- Naba—"  
He stopped, genuinely confused on the girls name.  
Eren chuckled.

"Nanaba. And that 'frisbee shit,' you mean discus. It's pretty cool though, I've tried to throw it a couple of times but it's never been as good as her throws," he said, pointing over to Nanaba who was getting the discus' out on the end of the field.

"Huh," Levi muttered.

Eren turned his gaze to the raven, noticing he was staring at him and not the girl he had pointed at. "What?"

"Nothing," Levi shrugged. "It's just typically you jocks are assholes, so I kind of figured you would disregard the whole 'field' part in 'track and field'" Although he couldn't complain. He didn't want to throw a disk for a whole week just to hear Eren say things such as it not being a real sport.

Eren placed his hand over his heart. "Ouch," he teased. "And why would I, these people are my family. This shit isn't exactly easy to master, especially pole vault. I mean sometimes I envy Hange, they make it look like nothing."

Levi could agree. He's never stayed at one of Hange's track meet for the whole time, only coming long enough to see their event. Needless to say, they were great. "Yeah, surprised they haven’t broken their fucking neck yet."

Eren snorted. "Yeah, well they scare us a lot. It's their enthusiasm that drives them, and it's impressive, really." Once again, the raven agreed. When Hange wanted to get something done, no matter how overly excited they got, they got it done.

Hence why he was even here in the first place.

"And Levi?" 

"Hm?"

"When you said 'typically you jocks,' you do know track is the only sport I do right? I've never really considered myself a jock seeing that everything else just doesn't do it for me, so."

Levi held back a smirk, thinking he offended the brunet in a way. He did call him an asshole, after all. "Right, whatever you say brat," he teased, turning and walking towards Nanaba. Before Eren could retort, Erwin was calling after him.

"Eren! These hurdles aren't going to set up themselves!" 

"Right, I'm coming!" He yelled back, turning around and jogging towards the runners.

Levi approached the short haired blonde, who was squatted on the ground, pulling discus' out of a bag. "Hope you have extras," he said. She turned around, confused but finally took the hint that he was joining her.

"Huh," she said, standing up, "Didn't expect you to end up here."

Levi shrugged. "Yeah, well it was you who said you fell in love with discus after starting it. You better not have fucking lied to me. Throwing frisbees and shit was not on my bucket list today."

Nanaba laughed, knowing he wasn't exactly being cruel to her. "I'll help you. We usually have an instructor out but he sort of just stopped showing up. No biggie though, when you do it long enough you don't really need one anymore."

Levi liked the sound of that. He couldn't imagine being apart of something where a coach was constantly breathing down your neck and yelling at you all the time. 

"Can I see it?" He asked, looking down at the red discus in her hand. The outline was metal, but Hange did mention it would be something like this. She nodded and gave it to him. When he grabbed it, it definitely wasn't the weight of a frisbee, but he supposed the metal was to thank for that.

He turned around and stepped into the metal ring on the ground, holding the discus as he would a frisbee. He began to throw it out, but Nanaba stopped him before it could leave his hand.

"Woah, woah, woah. What the fuck are you doing?" Levi turned around and met her shocked expression. He lowered his arms.

"I'm taking a practice throw, testing out my beginners luck. What am I doing wrong?"

"Just, you know, everything." She stepped inside the circle and grabbed his hand. "Look, your hand goes on top of the discus, like this." He allowed her to move his hand, as well as positioning his fingers on the outer rim. "Also, your fingers shouldn't be gripping the ends hard, and don't let them wrap completely around the edge. Make sure they're spaced evenly too."

He did as he was told, loosening his grip from his fingers and using his other hand to support the bottom. "Weird way to hold a fucking frisbee if you ask me."

"It's not a—"

"I know. There a certain way I throw this thing too?"

She nodded and walked back to where she was, grabbing a smaller discus and retreating back to Levi. 

"First, extend your arm out," she demonstrated, Levi quickly copying her position. "You're going to turn your body, one hundred and eighty degrees. Your legs stay in place, however. Your upper body should be the only part spinning." She did as she explained, keeping her legs still and her arm extended as she turned back and forth. When she looked over to see if Levi was following, she chuckled.

"What?" He snapped, "I'm doing what you're doing."

"No, sweetheart, you're not." She teased. "You look stiff. Bend your knees a little when you turn, not too much though." The raven followed her instructions and began turning his body as she did, bending his knees slightly.

"Not bad." She said, more to herself. "Also, try to not use your other hand. I know it feels like you have to support it, but I promise you it's not going to fall." He resumed turning his body, reluctantly removing his other, now only using one. Nanaba was impressed, nonetheless.

"Now you can't keep turning forever. When you come back around and you feel you're ready for release, make sure you don't release too early. It goes further if you—" She trailed off as she watched the discus leave his hands, the release being not what she had expected. Her eyes followed the round object in the air, before it landed roughly past the 100ft mark. Levi, being clueless of the sport, turned to her to see her reaction. He didn't necessarily know what was good for discus throwers, but it did seem to go pretty far.

"What the fuck," Nanaba said, it sounding more like a statement than a question. The raven furrowed his brows.

"Are you gonna tell me how I did, or am I supposed to just assume?" Nanaba still didn't answer him, completely at a loss of words for how good he did on the first time.

She tilted her head, "You sure you've never done this before? Never messed around with Hange out here or anything?" 

"No?"

The blonde widened her eyes, letting her discus drop out of her hand onto the ground. "That throw was fucking incredible. Definitely not what I expected from your first time."

Levi smirked, a sense of pride washing over him. "I guess you could call it—"

"Don't even say it."

**

"Listen up everyone, you all did good today. I expected nothing less. I don't know when Coach Sadies will be back, so it's not guaranteed I will be here tomorrow," Erwin announced, writing a few things on his clipboard. 

Levi stood around and watched as everyone complained, still completely unaware of what was so bad about their coach.

"With that being said," the tall blonde continued, "you are all dismissed." Erwin retreated to his vehicle and the group dispersed. Not even five seconds later Sasha was addressing everyone.

"Anyone up for going to Sina's?" She cheered, and soon several of the members were agreeing. Hange had taken her up on that offer, Jean and Connie as well. Bertolt, Reiner, and Annie said they had to get to their homes. The core four already had other plans.

"I don't see why not," Eren said. "Zeke has this new burger he wants people to try. You coming Floch?" The red head turned to the brunet and shook his head.

"Can't man, I have to go pick my sister up." Eren nodded and turned towards the bleachers.

"Armin get your ass down here, we're going to Sina's." The blonde yelled back that he'd be down in a minute, and Eren now faced Mikasa.

"You coming, Mika?"

The ravenette also shook her head. "I should go home and clean the house. Mom never has time to anymore." The brunet nodded in understanding and gave her a side hug, leaving Levi rather confused.

Hange was ready to ask Levi if he was going, but Eren beat them to it. The brunet didn't have to speak, however. He knew what he was asking when he saw Eren raise his brows. "What's Sina's?" The shorter male asked. 

Eren furrowed his brows, seeing as Sina's was a popular place in town, but decided to explain anyways. "It's my family's owned diner. On occasion, we go after practice. I'm surprised you've never heard of it."

Levi huffed, "I don't do diners. Also, I'd take you up on that offer but I didn't bring any money." Eren laughed.

"Don't worry about it, it's on me. Zeke knows to take it out of my paycheck." Levi didn't know who the hell Zeke was, but that wasn't what confused him.

"Paycheck?" The raven repeated. "You work there?"

Eren cocked an eyebrow. "I did say family owned, didn't I? Why wouldn't I work there?"

"Tch. Brat," Levi mumbled. 

**

The doors to the diner flew open, Jean being the first one inside. "Jaeger!" He playfully yelled, getting the attention of a blonde hair, bearded man with glasses on the other side of the counter. 

"What's up, Kirstein!" The bearded guy responded back, before Jean sat at one of the barstools at the counter. The group followed in behind him, standing around Jean as he talked to the man. 

The diner ranged from tables being placed in the middle of the floor, numerous barstools running along the counter, and booths outlining the room beside the windows. The floor, like any typical diner, was checkered. Although, where some diners tended to consist of red colored seats, this one ranged from baby blue and orange. The walls were white, and consisted of many retro knick knacks. 

While Levi wasn't a fan of diners, he'd be lying if he said he didn't appreciate the interior. 

The man on the other side of the counter conversed among the others, which led Levi to the conclusion that he was a good friend of theirs. Although, he remembered the name Jean called him by. Jaeger.

_Eren did say it was family owned._

"Alright losers, go sit down. Don't want you guys bothering me at the counter, got it?" The man said, although quite obvious in a joking manner. The group walked away from the counter and found the only round booth in the corner of the diner, which surprisingly fit all seven of them. 

"God Eren, you're brother is so beautiful," Sasha, to Levi's surprise, said out loud. However, it did confirm that the man and Eren were related.

The brunet made a face of disgust. "Sasha you say that every time."

"And I will continue to say it until him and I are married," she joked, even thought her face was written in seriousness.

"Zeke!" Eren called out, looking over towards the counter. "Tell Sasha you're too old for her." Zeke laughed and came out from behind the counter, approaching their booth.

"Sorry, Sash. Too old. All waters today?" Zeke looked around as he gathered their nods, stopping when he saw Levi. "I don't think I've seen you before." Before Levi could respond, Eren spoke up.

"This is Levi, he joined the team. Levi you want a water?" The ravens eyes met Eren's, who sat directly in front of him on the other end.

"Yeah, water's fine," he answered, Zeke nodding and walking off. He managed to break his eye contact with the brunet when he saw the shit eating grin on his face. "Tch. So that's your brother?"

"Mhm," Eren nodded. "I work with him too, just not as much." 

"Isn't he just a piece of art, Levi?" Sasha asked, head resting in her hands. The raven shrugged.

"Not really my type," he answered, hoping they didn't think it was because he was a boy, because saying Levi Ackerman was gay would be an understatement.

"So what is your type?" Eren sneered. The ravens attention shifted to the boy again, noticing the smug look he had on his face.

"Definitely not brown haired, green eyed brats that's for sure," he retorted, not bothering to hide any bluntness. Eren only laughed and turned away. Levi couldn't lie, if the track star wasn't so cocky like he figured he'd be, Eren would definitely be his type. 

But it didn't matter, because Levi Ackerman didn't _date._

Hange clapped their hands, "So! Levi, how did discus go?" The raven furrowed his brows and looked to the right of him at his best friend.

"You mean to tell me that you dragged me out there and didn't even watch how I did?"

Hange shook their head.

"Hm. Well, my first throw I got a past the hundred feet line. It was like that for the rest of practice really." He tried his best to sound as if he was disinterested, but it was all a big lie. There was no way he could deny how proud he would feel once he successfully made a throw. He came to the conclusion that Nanaba was right, and he ended up liking it too.

"Wait," Jean interrupted, holding his hand out. "You got passed the one hundred feet line? on your first throw?" Levi nodded. "Dude, what the hell! That's amazing, you coming back tomorrow?"

By now everyone was looking at him, Hange giving their best puppy eyes, Eren looking at him with a grin plastered on his face. Sasha was about on the edge of her seat, and Armin and Connie just staring at him. He knew going all week was apart of the deal, but it was different now. He would never admit it, but he was looking forward to it.

"Sure. Why the hell not?"

**

"Eren!" Zeke called out before the group could make it out the door. The brunet turned around. "Tell ma I'll be home a little later." Eren nodded before leaving the diner with his friends.

Sasha, Connie and Hange raced to the car when they stepped out, Jean and Armin following not too far behind, leaving Eren with Levi.

"So," the taller male spoke, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets. It was mid September, the days were still warm but the nights did get cool. "Did you have fun?" Levi side eyed the boy walking next to him.

"Did I have fun? All we did was eat and—"

"No," Eren cut off, "I meant at practice. Since you're coming back and all, I just wanted to know if you liked it." Levi now turned his head towards the brunet, staring in shock, because no where in what Eren said did he sound like the way he typically sounded. 

"Uh, yeah. It's pretty cool." Should he keep making conversation? Did he even care? Up until now Eren was just a track star who had too much pride for his own good, which annoyed Levi. He would have been content on walking in silence, but it was just as awkward.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" 

"How do you like it? Shit, you've probably been on the team for you whole life if you're that good and—"

"You think I'm good?" Eren cut off, smirking. _And he's back._ If Levi didn't find that so cocky, he would have found it cute. 

_Cute? What the hell?_

"Fuck off, you know what I meant." 

Eren chuckled. "Yeah, I know what you meant. I actually haven't done it my whole life, started in the eighth grade. I used to — how do I put this — have anger issues I guess? I lashed out a lot and needed an outlet, so Coach Sadies told me one day to come to a practice and it actually helped." 

Levi was surprised to say the least. He didn't expect Eren to share that much. "And now?"

"Now," Eren sighed, "Now it's just my life. Once I stopped running off of built up anger I thought I wouldn't be good anymore, but I was wrong. I actually became better."

As much of a brat the boy was, he had a reason for running and Levi admired that. He didn't say anything else, but he didn't need to. The silence was now more comfortable than awkward. 

When they reached Eren's car, they all fit in the same tightly packed seating arrangement as before: Eren driving, Jean in the passenger seat with Armin on his lap, Connie in the back with Sasha on his lap, Hange in the middle and Levi beside them. 

When Eren began to pull out of the diner, there was enough light to where he could look up in the mirror and see Levi. 

He didn't expect Levi to be looking back at him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The track meet gets cancelled and Levi has to be around Eren longer.

Friday had finally came and Levi stuck to his word, attending every practice that week. Coach Sadies returned on Wednesday, giving the raven a chance to understand why they hated him being there so much. He got closer with Nanaba, which was for the best. He didn't exactly want to throw alongside someone he hated. He found out he had Chemistry with Sasha, to which when it came time to chose partners, she didn't hesitate to run to him. He had little conversation with the others, many of them caught up in their own conversations anyways.

And then there was Eren.

He passed Eren in the halls more a day than he could count, each time followed by a lingering stare. He thought it was weird how he's never passed him this much before, either that or he didn't care enough to notice. At times, he also found himself watching the brunet during practice, although he'd never admit to it.

It was when he saw him jump a hurdle that stuck with him. He still was cocky, but damn the brat was talented. That's all it was. Eren had a skill, Levi admired that skill. _That_ was something he wouldn't be ashamed to admit.

Levi followed Sasha outside the school and towards the outdoor tables. He wasn't one for sitting outside to eat his food, but Sasha suggested he join her and he didn't mind. Hange would be joining them as well, so it didn't feel too out of place. 

"Why are you guys so late?" Jean asked, mouth full of food. 

Levi grimaced at the sight. "Fucking disgusting." He sat down, "We got held up in Chemistry." The table consisted of everyone who went to Sina's four days ago, and Levi sitting right in front of Eren. Again. The core four had their own table, and Mikasa sat with Bertholdt, Reiner and Annie at another.

Everyone engaged in their own conversations while they ate, all except Levi and Eren. They would exchange glances, at the same time too so neither of them were being discreet. Levi wasn't too fond of someone watching him eat, so that explained why he would quickly look away when his eyes met green ones. At least that's he was telling himself, anyways. It didn't take Hange long to notice, and they would have said something had Eren's phone not started buzzing.

He quickly picked it up, dropping his sandwich on his plate when he read what was across the screen.  
"Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."

"I think he has to shit," Connie whispered. Him and Sasha started laughing.

"Suck my dick, Springer." Eren put his phone down and looked at Jean. "Is there any way you can get your moms test answers for me? We have one Monday and I haven't studied shit." He didn't get an answer, however. In fact, Jean wasn't even paying him any attention. Eren rolled his eyes when he figured out what his friend was looking at.

"For fucks sake, Jean, just ask him out already." Hearing his name, Jean snapped out of his gaze and looked at the brunet.

"Fuck no. Let me admire from a distance."

Levi, knowing he wasn't escaping this group anytime soon, decided to butt in. "Admire what, exactly?" Eren pointed to the table closest to them.

"You see that guy with dark hair? The one with freckles? Yeah, that’s Marco and Jean is in love with him. Won't grow a pair and ask him out, though."

"He's too good for me, shut up."

"Yeah, yeah," Eren teased. "Did you hear my question?" Jean shook his head. "Figures. I said I need you to get your moms test answers for me. Or maybe just tell her she's a horrible person for giving us a test on a Monday, either one."

"Why don't you just study?" Levi asked, lifting his fork up to his mouth. "Too good for it?" Eren rolled his eyes.

"Obviously not. We have a track meet tomorrow, and I'm going to be tired as hell afterwards." Levi hummed in response, before his eyes widened. 

"What? Who was going to tell me we had a fucking meet?" Hange laughed and placed a hand on their best friends shoulder, making him more confused than he already was.

"I didn't tell you because Coach Sadies exempted you from it. You know, being the newbie and all." Levi relaxed, relieved that he didn't have to have his first meet that soon. 

"I'll do it," Jean said to Eren. "But Jaeger you owe me the fucking favor of a lifetime." The brunet smiled, as if he already knew how to repay him.

"Deal."

**

Levi left school after the final bell rung, being left to walk home since Hange's car had not been fixed, and even if it had been, they had other plans. He couldn't complain too much, considering he's walked to and from school many times before. It was just easier to walk to school since it wasn't as hot in the mornings.

When he stared on the main road, he didn't get far before a car pulled up beside him. Typically, he would simply keep walking, but he knew this car. The passenger window rolled down, revealing a certain green eyed brunet.

"If you needed a ride home, you could have asked."  
Eren was smirking.

_Damn brat._

Levi shifted his weight on one leg and clutched his book bag strap, "Sorry. You know what they say about stranger danger." The brunet rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Get in the car, Levi." Reluctantly, the raven did so. It wasn't because he didn't trust Eren, no that wasn't it at all. It was just somehow the track star managed to invade his thoughts more than he would like to admit, even if he didn't know exactly what it meant. Once it became to confusing for him, he would remind himself who the brunet was: a snarky brat who just so happened to be on the same team as him. Nothing more, nothing less.

Once seated on the passenger side, Eren pulled off. "Here," he handed Levi his phone, "put your address in the GPS." The shorter male did so, not understanding why he couldn't just guide Eren there himself. Although, it would keep conversation to a minimum if Eren listened to the GPS instead.

**

"No 'thank you?'" Eren teased as Levi stepped out of the car. 

"You volunteered," Levi answered, closing the door so Eren couldn't get a word in. He didn't exactly mean it to be rude. He was appreciative of the ride and would have thanked him if he was anyone else, but the brat was too damn cocky.

Levi was stepping inside his house when Eren's car finally pulled off. He ventured through the bottom floor rooms, seeing if he was alone because his uncle Kenny never told him when he'd be gone. He didn't need to.

"You lookin' for me?" A man asked when Levi stepped into the kitchen. He turned around to face his uncle, looking up because Kenny had a good foot and a couple inches on him.

"You look like shit."

Kenny laughed and left the kitchen, Levi following behind. "Just woke up. Had the day off. What about you? Shouldn't you be running laps and shit." When they reached the living room, the older sat on the recliner and Levi on the couch.

"Tch. It's Friday, we don't have practice." Kenny hummed in response, flipping the TV on. In all honesty, Kenny was more of a father to him. He's been around his whole life, even when his mother was alive which meant the day she died, he immediately stepped up. Levi couldn't have been more grateful, despite him rarely showing it.

They had been watching the TV for a while when Levi's attention shifted away from the show, hearing his phone buzz. He picked it up with no urgency, thinking it must have been Hange. 

Except it wasn't.

_'still waiting on a thank you'_ the text from the unknown number read. Levi furrowed his brows. He knew who it was, but just to be sure, _'Who's this?'_

_'do you really have to ask?'_

_'How did you get my number brat?'_

_'hange ;)'_ _Go figure._ Levi wouldn't put it past them to do something like this, though he didn't particularly know the reason.

_'Not surprised. What do you want?'_

_'you want to come over tomorrow?'_ Levi's heart stopped. Was Eren seriously inviting him over? He figured the car situation was just a nice gesture, but what was this? 

_'Why?'_ Not exactly the best response, but he still had to be sure.

_'the team comes to my house on meet days.'_ Levi sighed. _Of course,_ he thought, _it was meet day._ Still, he couldn't exactly understand the feeling he got when Eren asked him. He began typing when another message popped up on the screen. _'you should come to the meet. i know you’re not participating in it and all but it would be great to have you there.’_

Why was Levi blushing? Levi doesn't blush. No, it was the heat. Kenny kept it unbelievably warm in the house.

_Yes. That's exactly what it was._

_'Sure. What time do I need to be there?'_

_'text hange deets. i assume they'll find some way or another to pick you up.’_

Levi sent a simple _'Okay'_ before setting his phone down. All the brunet did was ask him if he wanted to go to the meet, that shouldn't be a big deal. _'It would be great to have you there.'_ Did Eren want him there, or was he speaking in terms of everyone else? He sighed, forcing his attention back to the show that suddenly didn't seem interesting anymore.

**

"Too damn early for a track meet," Levi muttered. The next morning came and him and Hange were on the way to Eren's, already running a little behind. Courtesy to Levi, who had no idea that the meet was at 8 in the morning. He hated mornings, so he didn't take the news well. 

"You know," Hange said, turning onto Eren's road, "You didn't have to come." They were right, Levi didn't have to come. He wasn't required to participate today, and he could have gotten plenty of sleep. 

"Tch. And you didn't have to give that shitty brat my number."

"Levi," Hange groaned, dragging out his name. "You're still mad? I told you I did it for you."

"And I told you, I have no fucking clue what that means."

Hange looked over at their friend and grinned. "Trust me, Levi. I'm not dumb."

"Makes me wonder," he mumbled. “You know,” he continued, looking over to them, “I’m surprised your parents let you use their car, considering your track record with taking care of yours.”

“Hey,” they retorted defensively. “Abatha breaking down was beyond my control. She was just... going through it. She’ll be fixed in no time.”

“Or,” he suggested, holding his pointer finger out, “It’s the universe getting back at you for naming your fucking car Abatha.” Hange broke off into a fit of laughter, and Levi shook his head. “Seriously Hange, what the hell were you thinking?”

They pulled into Eren's driveway, Hange stepping out and opening the back to grab their bag. Levi didn't bring much, not that he needed anything to begin with. They made their way to the door, and before either of them could knock, the door swung open. 

"Levi! You came!" Sasha exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the male. Levi didn't move, not that he could with how tight her grip was.

"Sasha!" Jean called out from inside the house. "Give the guy a chance to walk in the door, will ya!" Sasha laughed nervously and pulled away.

"Right, sorry about that."

"Don't sweat it," he answered lowly. "Am I supposed to take off my sh—" he trailed off as he stepped into the living room, seeing everyone still had shoes on. "Right, got it."

There were two sofas, one which the core four was bundled up on and one with Armin and Jean, Connie sitting on the armrest. Hange and Sasha found a spot on the floor and watched TV, and Levi plopped down beside Armin. "Hey Arlert."

"Hey Levi. I thought you didn't have to come?" 

Levi furrowed his brows, "and I thought you weren't even on the team."

"Touché."

Seconds later Zeke walked into the living room. "Alright, I'm making you kids eggs. Do y'all w—" He stopped, peeping out of the room and noticing the front door that was wide open. "Sasha, how many times do I have to tell you to close to damn door."

"It wasn't me!" She said defensively, eyes glued on the screen.

"Whatever you say." After he closed the door, he retreated back to where Levi guessed was the kitchen.

"Where's the others?" The raven asked. Everyone was too distracted by the TV to answer, but luckily Armin heard him.

"Eren’s in his room, Floch drives with his girlfriend and Mikasa spent the night with Annie, who gets a ride from Bertholdt and Reiner." In the past week, upon learning that Zeke was Eren's brother, he also learned that Mikasa was his adoptive sister.

Several moments later, Zeke had finished scrambling their eggs and they had ate, Eren still absent from the room. No one seemed phased, however, which led Levi to believe this was another normal habit for him.

"Fucking hell," Zeke cursed from under his breath. Levi turned around and watched as he stopped at the end of the staircase. "Eren you're holding everyone up!"

"Hold the hell on!" The scream was muffled, but twice as loud. Levi rolled his eyes. Nearly ten minutes later, they finally heard footsteps running down the stairs.

Levi turned his head around to see Eren standing at the end of the stairs, a pair of simple black joggers and a loose fitting t shirt. _It took him that long to get ready?_

Eren opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but stopped when he saw Levi. Neither one of them spoke. This time Eren smiled at him, and that's what snapped the raven out of it. 

"Eren's down guys!" Zeke announced, grabbing the remote and turning the TV off, earning complains from the others. He groaned, mocking them. "Get your asses into the cars. Ymir, be careful on the roads." The tall brunette nodded, grabbing Christa's hand and headed towards the door. It was when the front door was about to open when all of their phones simultaneously went off.

They looked at each other before pulling their devices out, reading the message they got.

"Tornado warning in the area until 5:30 pm. We advise you to take shelter," Zeke read out loud. As if on cue, after he finished speaking it starting raining. Hard.

"Shit," Eren whispered, walking over to the sofa and flopping down. "Knowing Sadies, until he gives us any information we still have to go." Moments later, Zeke's phone began to ring.

"It's Sadies," he said, lifting the phone up to his ear. "Kieth, hello... Uh huh...Yeah we got the message...Alright, sounds good...He is...I'll tell him... Thanks." He hung up the phone and addressed everyone, who was staring at him in anticipation.

"The meets cancelled." Everyone besides Levi celebrated, returning to the living room. Zeke waited for the noise to die down before he continued. "Levi, Sadies wanted me to tell you since it's rescheduled, you'll be participating in the meet next Saturday."

Levi nodded, making his way to the living room and back to his spot on the couch. This time, he wasn't beside Armin. He was beside Eren.

"Now," the blonde bearded man began, "it's my day off, so I'm going back to sleep. I trust none of you will be on the roads?"

"We won't," Hitch answered, even though her attention was on the show they turned back on. Zeke rolled his eyes and left up the stairs. Levi didn't know what to do now. Hange seemed too occupied with the TV, along Nanaba and Sasha. Frankly, everyone was. Everyone except Eren.

"Hey if you don't want to stay, I can drive you home before it gets bad," the brunet whispered, leaning into Levi. It shouldn't have sent chills through the ravens body.

He was losing composure and he had to fix that, fast. "Tch. You'd end up killing us. No thanks." He heard Eren chuckle and continued watching the TV, not daring to look beside him.

**

A couple of episodes later, Hange finally tore their gaze from the TV, looking for their best friend. When they spotted him, they were smiling from ear to ear.  
Eren and Levi were both asleep, Eren leaning on the arm rest and Levi leaning on the brunet. Jean was on the couch as well, but too distracted on his phone to pay them any mind.

Hange knew it must have happened accidentally, but they dug for their phone, deciding that Levi would thank them later. They took a picture, smiled at it, and then resumed watching the show.

Everything had been going the same until the power went out, thunder following it. It shook Eren awake, but he was too distracted on the body laying on him to worry about the lights. 

"Come on!" Sasha whined, "It was getting to the good part!"

Eren didn't move. It wasn't that he couldn't, but something about Levi laying on his side was just... comfortable. He tried his best to pretend he was still asleep, but more thunder came and Levi jolted up. Upon just waking up, he didn’t realize he had been sleeping on the brunet.

"What the hell happened?" He asked with a raspy voice, which Eren immediately thought was the most attractive sound he's ever heard.

"Storms getting worse, the power went out," Ymir informed, running her hands through her sleeping girlfriends head. The power outage didn't leave the room pitch black. Even with the curtains closed, some light managed to get through.

Connie sighed, laying on the floor. "So what now?"

"Shit," Levi was the first to speak up, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm still tired. Let's just sleep it off." 

Sasha shrugged. "I could use a nap too. Guys?" Everyone soon agreed, some already finding their comfortable positions and some entertained themselves on their phones. Eren texted his mom before he settled down, making sure she was okay at work. When he received an almost immediate response, he shut his phone off.

From what the brunet could tell, Levi was sitting up straight trying to fall asleep, but he knew that wasn't comfortable enough. Then, an idea hit Eren. It was a shot in the dark, literally and figuratively, but he figured if he was rejected they would forget about it as soon as they woke up.

He leaned close to Levi, slowly bringing his arm up and wrapping it around his shoulders. Levi jumped when he felt the contact, but he was already trembling before and Eren felt it.

"What are you doing?" The ravens hissed.

"You're shaking." His voice didn't come out as a whisper, in fact he was speaking normally. Nanaba sat up.

"Who's shaking?"

"Levi."

"No I'm not, I'm just—" he got cut off by thunder, jumping when he heard it. "It's too cold in your fucking house." Eren narrowed his eyes and smirked, hoping Levi could see it. 

"Are you... scared of thunderstorms?"

"What?" Levi asked too defensively, widening his eyes. "Of course not. Who do you think I am?" Eren and the others started laughing.

"Okay, okay. I'm just messing with you, Levi." They all began to get comfortable again when louder thunder came, Levi letting out a high pitched shriek. Two seconds passed, and everyone busted out laughing.

"He's definitely scared of thunderstorms!" Hange said in between their laughter.

"Fuck off, four eyes."

Once everyone settled down for the final time, and Levi hadn't made anymore startling sounds. Eren hadn’t attempted to try what he did earlier. He wanted nothing more than to bring back the warmth of the raven laying on him, but suddenly he had doubts.

But there was no way Levi would sleep comfortably sitting upright in the middle of the couch. Sighing, Eren grabbed the pillow beside him and sat it in his lap, tapping Levi’s shoulder. The shorter male didn’t say anything, only turning his head in response.

Eren patted the pillow, “you can lay your head here if you want.”

The raven furrowed his brows. “And why would I do that?” He asked quietly.

“Because you’re not going to be able to sleep sitting like _that_.” Levi thought it over, before huffing and shifting closer to Eren. 

“You better be glad I’m actually tired.” He laid his head down on the pillow, Eren suddenly feeling the urge to run his fingers through the black locks but decided he would be overstepping boundaries.

The position wasn’t as comfortable for Eren, and part of him wished they had been laying as they were earlier, but he didn’t care. There was something about Levi laying comfortably in his lap that made him feel content.

Eren had taking a liking to the shorter male. What that meant, he didn’t exactly know yet. He’s seen him around school before, not giving it any thought but now he was glad he was friends with the raven. He was different, a bit blunt in Eren’s opinion but he’s dealt with worse. Jean Kirstein is one of his closest friends, so therefore he couldn’t complain. 

Levi’s style was another thing Eren found interesting. He dressed in a grunge sort of fashion, which completely contrasted Eren. The brunets style was rather simple, a lot of the time consisting of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Their personalities contradicted as well, but not in a way that would push them apart.

No, if anything, Eren could say it pulls him closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I’m not rushing them , they’re going to have a falling out in the next couple of chapters. Also, chapter four will be out in a couple of minutes :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang occupies themselves during the storm pretty much.

"And here I thought you kids died or something," Zeke said to himself, shining a flashlight on the sleeping teens sprawled out in the living room.  
The rain hadn't let up yet, although the thunder wasn't so bad. Zeke shone the light around until it stopped on two particular people.

His brother, and the raven that was still asleep in his lap. Deciding it wasn't enough to think about, he woke the teens up.

Actually, he wanted to have some fun with it.

"Everyone get up the house is falling apart!" Everyone shifted in their sleep, slowly waking up but not fully comprehending what was going on.

"What?" Eren mumbled, moving once Levi had sat up from his lap.

"Hurry your asses up, the tornado hit the house!" This time, panic set in. They rushed off of the floor and the couches, tripping over each other in the process, and Zeke let out a laugh.

"Got ya! Nearly trampled each other." Once he composed himself, he got whacked in the head by his brother.

"You asshole." The brunet went off towards the kitchen. 

Levi hated the loss of warmth that came with Eren getting off the couch, but he had to quickly remind himself that that was nothing. _Right?_

Well it felt right.

Jean flopped back on the couch and grabbed his phone. "What time is it?" Giving his eyes time to adjust to the light, he read the numbers. "Two pm? How the hell did we sleep until two pm?"

Christa yawned. "I sleep like a baby during thunderstorms. Besides we did wake up early for a meet we didn't go to."

"Still thankful for that," Hitch chimed in, Sasha agreeing. Zeke joined the others, sitting in his recliner because frankly he had nothing to do as well. 

"Here," Eren said, coming back in the room with an arm full of water bottles. He dropped them on an empty spot in the floor, grabbing two from the pile for himself and Levi. Once seated back on the couch, he held the water out.

"For you."

Oh how Levi was so grateful for the lack of light that hid his blush, because how the fuck did a cocky brat do that to him? 

"So," Hange spoke, "what now?" They sat around thinking, before Sasha piped up.

"Oh! I know! Since Levi is apart of the group and all let's tell him some of our stories!" Huge grins were plastered on their faces. 

"Yes!" Hange agreed, "what first?" The teens began thinking again, trying to think of what would make an interesting story for Levi. 

"What about that one track meet at Trost High?" Hitch suggested. "You guys know which one i'm talking about." Armin gasped.

"Oh we so have to tell him about that one!" Everyone immediately agreed, all except Eren. The brunet buried his face in his hands and groaned.

"Can't we just forget about that?"

"Nope," Jean said, popping the "p." Eren rolled his eyes and sat upright. Levi looked around in confusion, surprisingly curious to know what was so bad about the subject.

"Just get it over with," the brunet muttered.

Hitch squealed in excitement and shifted her position on the couch, so that she was know sitting on her knees. "Okay so last year, it was like towards the beginning of December and we had a meet at Trost High, right?" Levi nodded. "Well before it was any of our times to go, we all sat around behind the bleachers in a private area."

"Oh god," Eren mumbled.

"Anyways," Hitch continued, "Someone-" she cut off, looking over at Jean, him throwing his hands up in defense. "Someone had the idea that we should play spin the bottle. With a water bottle of course."

Levi looked over and smirked when he saw Eren trying to hide himself with his hands, and then looked back to the girl.

"It was going okay at first, you know. Just a couple of friends being dumb. Well the last people to go were Eren and Jean." The teens around her began snickering, remembering the moment like it was yesterday. 

Levi's mouth hung open slightly and he let out a small laugh himself. "Your first kiss was with Jean?"

"Unfortunately," the brunet said. 

"Hey," Jean retorted in defense, "I am a good kisser." 

Eren moved his hand from his face and looked over to his friend. "Then go kiss Marco and stop bothering us."

Hitch snapped her fingers. "Shut up you two, I'm telling a story here. Now where were we? Right! So at the time, we didn't know it, but one of the students from another school had saw them kiss. Later when it was Eren's turn to run, one of the runners he was going up against was that kid, and he started taunting him before they could even go."

"And Eren being Eren," Connie threw in, "He fought the guy. He didn't even get to run."

"Sadies worked the hell out of him that following week," Nanaba added. "He showed no mercy." Eren crossed his arms.

"It's like I can still feel the muscle cramps up to this day."

"Yeah," Zeke sighed, leaning back in the recliner and letting the leg rest go up. "Sadies called me instead of our mother. Eren bribed me not to tell mom. Bribed."

Everyone chuckled, Levi grinning a little. When the laughter died down, Hitch spoke up again.

"But that's not the only interesting meet we've had. Do you want to hear more?" Levi looked around, the lingering stares he could see in the dim room. The stories were the only thing making time go by faster, and frankly they were amusing to him. He shrugged.

"Sure. Why the hell not?"

**

"And the look on Sadies face was priceless!" Christa gushed. "We thought we were goners."

Despite not feeling like it, an hour of story telling from the group had passed. Levi had learned things such as how they all met, and even some of the drama they've had. 

Oh.

And he also learned that Eren was gay. It shouldn't have surprised him that much, because if he didn't know any better he would have believed there were times the brunet was flirting with him.

Why was Eren being gay so relieving to him?

"Good times," Connie sighed. "Levi is definitely helping us prank Sadies this year." The raven cocked his head.

"I am?"

"You are," Hange answered. "Even if I have to force you." Levi rolled his eyes and sunk further down into the couch. This definitely wasn't the way he expected to spend his Saturday, but he couldn't complain. There was something comforting about how the team acted around each other, like they were family.

He was jealous.

He didn't have a lot of people growing up. When his mom died, Hange and his uncle were the only ones left, and Erwin when they met. It was easier for him not to have a lot of people in his life, especially after losing the most important person to him.

But then he met these people, and it was different. Was he considered apart of the family? He would never admit it but he hoped so.

"Someone should play some music," Ymir suggested. Everyone agreed and immediately looked to Jean. He sighed and shook his head, pulling his phone out. Levi turned to look at Eren.

"What was that about?"

The brunet chuckled. "It was sort of a group decision that Jean had the best playlist out of all of us."

"It really comes in handy on the bus," Nanaba added. Levi raised his eyebrow and looked back at Jean, who was still scrolling through his playlist. He was beginning to doubt him until he heard an all too familiar intro. 

"Oh my god," the raven muttered. 

He looked around and could already tell what was going to happen once the lyrics started. A couple of seconds passed and...

"I think we can do it if we try, if only to say you're mine!" Jean sang, but it was more of a shout. The others joined in.

"Sofia know that you and I shouldn't feel like a crime!" Even Hange was singing, and Levi couldn't help but smile a little. Ymir had Christa's head in her lap and was singing to her, which Levi found so cliche but it was still cute.

They repeated that part, and before the next could start, Sasha pointed to Eren.

"Your part is coming, Eren!" Levi, immediately intrigued, looked at the brunet. Eren glanced over at him for leaning up. 

And Levi didn't think he could have prepared himself for what he heard.

"You know I'll do anything you ask me to. But oh my God, I think I'm in love with you." The last line he looked over at a Levi and winked, and the raven could only stare in awe because holy shit the boy could sing.

The team joined in afterwards, singing simultaneously throughout the song. Levi, being the only one not singing, felt a little awkward but it was okay. They were paying him no attention, and he was genuinely having a good time.

The chorus came on one more time, and Zeke, who disappeared earlier, came in singing too. When the song finished, they all sighed and tried to regain their breath from yelling.

Levi snorted, "are you kidding me?" Before anyone could spit out a response, the lamps in the room suddenly flickered on. Gasps filled the room.

Jean threw his fist up in the air, "Woo! Someone turn on that TV!" Connie happily obliged and before Levi knew it, everyone was lost in the show again. The raven looked to the left of him and saw that Eren seemed nervous, based off the way he was fidgeting with his hands.

"You okay brat?" Levi asked quietly, leaning into the brunet. Eren shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm just... well you know I... it's just—" He groaned, taking his hands and covering his face. "Levi?"

"Yeah?"

"About earlier I—" Levi cut him off, grabbing his hands from his face and moving them down. 

The brunets eyes met his own and he grinned. "I can't hear you when your voice is muffled and shit." Eren blushed.

"Right. Well about earlier, you know the 'laying in my lap' situation?" Levi nodded. "I'm sorry if it makes things awkward and if you want to forget it happened. It was just easier not to think about when the lights were off and-"

"Brat."

Eren froze and stared at the raven. Levi was thankful everyone was too occupied with the TV to pay them any mind. "It's not right to assume things." He didn't say anything afterwards, although the should have. Eren sat confused, but decided to brush it off when Levi looked away.

**

"It's like walking though a swamp," a women muttered to herself as the door of the Jaeger household opened. Levi seemed to be the only one to hear it.

The core four had left earlier, considering they already had their own sleepover plans. Jean and Connie were passed out of the floor, Sasha using Connie's chest as a pillow while she watched TV. Armin and Hange took over the other couch and continued watching the show as well. Eren remained beside Levi, scrolling through his Instagram feed, and Zeke sat in his recliner typing on his computer.

Levi couldn't really get into the show everyone was so intrigued with, and he wasn't one for caring about social media, so the past couple of hours had gone by slower for him.

The woman he had heard earlier stepped into the living room, walking behind the couch and rubbing the brunets head.

"Hey ma," Eren said, turning his head back but his gaze was still fixated on his phone. Zeke heard this and looked up, catching notice of the woman as well.

"Oh, hey ma. Didn't hear you come in." 

"Hey boys. Armin, Hange, Sasha." The three of them muttered out a 'Hey Carla' without breaking eye contact with the screen. Carla paused when she saw Levi.

"Oh Eren, who is this?" 

"Hm?" He finally looked as his mother, realizing she was referring to the raven sitting beside him. "Oh! Mom, this is Levi. Levi, this is my mom." Levi looked up at the woman and nervously smiled, holding his hand out.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Jaeger." Carla took his hand, tilting her head a little.

"Please, call me Carla," she smiled. "Let me guess, you're the new member of the team Eren has been talking about?" Levi glanced over at the brunet, who seemed to have a hint of red in his cheeks. 

"He talks about me?"

"Well of c-"

"So! Uh, how was work ma?" He quickly asked. Levi couldn't help but smirk at Eren's sudden urge to change the subject, and how he seemed to be avoiding eye contact.

"It was work," she sighed. Zeke stood from the recliner and walked over to his mother, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Go get some rest, you look tired." She didn't argue, instead she nodded and walked to the staircase. Before she went up, she looked back into the living room.

"Have you kids eaten anything?"

Zeke nodded. "We ordered pizza about an hour and a half ago." She nodded and walked up the stairs.

"Night boys," she said, voice getting quieter with each step she took.

"Night ma, love you!" Eren and his brother responded simultaneously, Zeke returning to his chair. A tiny smile formed on Levi's face, missing what it felt like to see a mother interact with her children. It was wrong to say he was jealous of the two, but he couldn't help but envy them.

His smile faded as his mind went to more depressing thoughts, and Eren caught notice of this.

"You okay?"

The raven didn't respond. He stood from the couch and left the room, Eren not knowing where he went until he heard the front door close. Sighing, he followed behind, afraid he'd upset Levi somehow. 

"Levi?" He called out softly, opening the door. Levi was leaning against the porch railings looking down. He didn't get a response, but he knew the shorter male heard him. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah."

"I don't believe you," the brunet replied, chucking a little. He went and stood beside Levi, leaning on the railings as well. "Did I do something?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Well do you wanna talk ab-"

"No." The raven said sternly, causing Eren to jump a little. "Nothing is wrong, Eren." He knew was lying, he just didn't like bringing up his mother, so he kept it a secret.

"O-oh, okay," Eren stammered quietly, turning around and heading back inside. Levi had upset him, and normally he wouldn't feel bad but it was different with Eren. He didn't want the brunet being mad at him.

Screw that secretive shit.

"Eren come here," Levi said before the taller boy could go back inside. The boy was standing beside him again, but this time he was the one looking down. Levi looked up at the sky.

_Just tell him, Levi._

"When I was thirteen, my mother died." He deemed it best to leave out all of the details, because maybe one day he would open up and tell Eren more. Today was not that day, however.

"Levi," he whispered.

"Seeing you have such a good relationship with your mother just brought things back, I guess."

When he looked over at the taller boy, he was confused when he saw tears forming in his eyes. Little did Levi know Eren knew exactly what it was like to lose a parent. The brunet tried to think of what exactly he could say to comfort Levi, but the only thing that came to mind was telling _his_ story.

"Freshman year I lost my dad in a car wreck. I did something stupid at school, fucked up and got suspended so my dad had to come pick me up. He wouldn't have even been on the roads if-"

Eren stopped talking after that, taking a deep breath as the memory flooded his mind again. He didn't like thinking about the accident either. Levi remained silent, confused at what Eren was getting at but waited for him to continue.

"It was all my fault."

The raven looked over at the boy, the moon giving enough light that he could see tears falling down his face. "What? No, Eren it wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was. He wouldn't have even been on the roads if I wasn't so stupid and got in trouble. I'm the only one to blame."

"Eren," Levi spoke softly, even surprising himself, and placed his hand on the brunets shoulder. "What happened was not your fault. You guys just happened to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. And if it was because of the other car, it definitely wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself."

Eren continued to look down off the porch, not bothering to respond. He still couldn't help but feel guilty over the situation, but deemed it best not to talk about it anymore. 

Moments later, the brunet finally turned to face Levi, who's gaze was set on the stars. All he could think of in the moment was how beautiful he looked, his skin practically glowing in the moonlight. 

"Levi?"

The shorter male shifted his body so that he was leaning his side on the rails. "Yeah?" Eren copied his movements, eyes immediately meeting Levi's, which didn't exactly help the situation. He could feel himself getting lost in the grey orbs.

Eren leaned in, slowly losing any control he had. His eyes never left Levi's, and his heart sped up when he noticed the raven was leaning in too. The space between them gradually decreased, and it felt as if time was freezing. Levi couldn't pull himself away, Eren either, but the brunet didn't want to anyways. It wasn't until their faces were close enough to feel each other's breathing that the front door opened. Eren jumped back and Levi coughed, putting more space between them than before.

"Eren," Armin announced, stepping onto the porch with Jean, Connie, and Sasha behind him. "We're all pretty tired, I think I'm going to take them home now. Hange taking you home, Levi?" Levi nodded. "Okay, well see you guys Monday." 

"Bye, Armin," Eren responded, looking back at the others. "Bye guys."

"Bye," they mumbled simultaneously, following the blonde boy down the steps and to his car. Not too long after they pulled out of the driveway, Hange was joining them on the porch.

"I'm pooped."

Levi rolled his eyes and Eren snickered. Hange didn't wait for their best friend to object, instead they went off to their car and sat inside patiently. 

"Well," Levi sighed. "I guess I should hurry so they don't pass out on the road. Thanks for, uh, letting us stay during the storm or whatever." Eren nodded and watched as the raven walked down the steps, wishing things weren't so awkward between them.  
Without thinking, he called out to him.

"Hey Levi."

The shorter male turned around, humming in response. Eren looked down at his fingers and fiddled with them, before looking back to the figure at the bottom of the steps.

"Nothing, nevermind. Night Levi."

Levi watched him for a moment, knowing it wasn't nothing but now wasn't the time to pry. "Night, brat." And then he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this cause there’s drama from here on out. 
> 
> Also comments are appreciated :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and Eren may not be together yet, but that doesn’t stop two other people from getting together. Also some Ereri drama

"You know," Hange spoke as they walked down the hall with Levi. "I'm still surprised you stayed on the team. Thankful also, tattoos are expensive as hell, but surprised."

Levi huffed. "Yeah, well just because you said that, I'm quitting." Hange playfully elbowed his side, knowing he had no real intentions on quitting. They also knew he enjoyed the sport more than he let on. The weekend had passed and it was now Wednesday, and Levi surprised himself when he continued to practice. 

They turned on the main hall, Levi looking to the other end of it and immediately recognizing the boy who sat on the staircase. He hadn't talked to Eren much since the situation at his house. In fact, unless it was in a group conversation, they didn't talk at all. There was an unfamiliar boy sitting next to him, blonde hair falling to the sides of his head in a middle part. The conversation looked rather intimate, and Levi felt a strange feeling run through his body, and as much as it felt like jealously, he would die before he admitted that's what it was.

"Hange who's that over there with Eren?"

"Hm?" Hange looked around to find the boy, eyes finally falling on the staircase. "Oh! That's Eren and-" They stopped, Levi looking over at them to see they had furrowed their brows. "Niccolo? Huh, that's weird."

"Why is that weird?"

"Niccolo is his ex," They answered. "Which would be okay in any other situation, of course. It's just, those two didn't exactly end on good terms. Well, not good enough to where they would stay friends." Levi hummed in response.

When they turned on the hall their classes were on, Hange pulled Levi to the side. "Spill."

"Hange I don't know what the fuck your t-"

"Don't give me that. What's going on with you and Eren?" Levi froze. Levi was not an easy person to read, and Hange wasn't the best at reading people, so to say he was surprised would be an understatement. 

"Me and Eren are just friends," he lied. Although, technically it wasn't a lie. Things were complicated after their moment on Saturday, yes, but it's not like they were dating or anything. For all Levi knew, or tried to convince himself he knew, he didn't even have feelings for the brunet.

Hange nodded slowly and skeptically, before reaching into their pocket and digging their phone out. Levi waited in confusion, wondering what exactly they were doing. What he didn't expect was to see a picture of him cuddled on the couch with Eren being shoved in his face.

"You took a picture? What the hell is wrong with you!" Hange shrugged and returned their phone to their pocket. 

"I thought you might want it for later, like if you two were to ever become a thing." 

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Yeah, well were not. Me and Eren Jaeger are not nor will we ever be a thing, got it? I don't date." Truthfully, he didn't know if he was being honest with himself or not. Levi wasn't the type get in a relationship with someone, so he told himself that mostly for reassurance. 

Hange gave up and nodded, and they began walking to class, not saying a word to each other. They had also been to distracted to have noticed the tall brunet that had stopped at the beginning of the hallway.

Eren had heard what Levi said.

**

"I'm so stupid," Eren groaned, sitting down on the bench in the locker room. Jean snorted, closing his locker. The two had gym right now, which was certainly Eren's favorite class. He just couldn't enjoy it right now.

"We've established this, Jaeger." Eren looked up and glared at his friend, Jean holding his hands up in defense. "Kidding. Sort of, anyways. So are you going to tell me why you're moping?"

"I'm not moping."

"Right," Jean nodded. "Brooding, my bad. What's gotten into you? Usually you're working my last nerve and now I'm starting to feel sorry for you." Eren gave him a sarcastic grin.

"Thanks. Look I'm fine, I'm just feeling disappointed right now. I thought I had something figured out but guess I was reading into things." Despite not talking to Levi since Saturday, his guess was that it was awkward because the two felt something for each other, which was true on Eren's part. As for Levi, he now thought he must have been ignoring him on purpose.

Jean sighed, leaning against the lockers. "I'm not really good with advice so I don't know what to tell you, but I don't think you should let it get to you that fast. All good things come to those who wait." 

The brunet cocked a brow, staring at his friend who appeared to be very serious. It wasn't often that Jean tried to help him. "Did you read that on a billboard or some shit?"

"And this," Jean said, holding his pointer finger out, "is why I'm never trying to help you again." Eren chuckled and stood up, throwing his clothes in his locker. 

"Come on, that mile isn't going to run itself."

**

After their warm up laps were completed, Nanaba and Levi made their way to the discus area. The latter avoided Eren more than before, completely unaware he was getting ignored as well.

"They're doing four by fours today, I don't see how they do it," Nanaba spoke when they approached the throwing area. She dropped her bag on the ground, pulling out a discus for herself and one for Levi. 

"Thanks," he said, taking the object that was slightly bigger than Nanaba's. "What are four by fours again?"

"The person starting runs a full lap and then once they reach the end, they pass the baton to the next person and they run a lap. The process repeats until four people have went," she explained. 

"Sounds brutal."

Back where the runners were, they had been stretching when someone caught Jean's attention. "Oh my god," he muttered. Eren, who had been bending to touch his toes, looked up. 

"What's wrong?"

"Don't look now," the ashen male whispered, "but Marco is here. On the bleachers. I think he's watching practice." Eren turned to the bleachers and there Marco was, sitting nervously. 

"I said don't look!" Jean quietly snapped, causing Eren to grin. Little did Jean know that Marco was here because of him. He remembered his friend telling him he owed him, so the brunet figured why not start with the one thing he's been struggling with. Before the school day had ended, Eren slipped an anonymous note in Marco's locker inviting him to come watch practice, trying his best to sound suggestive in a way. Now that he actually showed up, he thought it would be a good opportunity for Jean to finally talk to him.

"I think you should say something to him, like at the end of practice," Eren suggested. "Who knows, maybe he's here for you." Jean didn't respond, only glancing over at his crush occasionally as he continued to do his stretches. 

**

"Jaeger!" Coach Sadies called out. He began walking over to the boy, Eren too frustrated to even focus on the man. He had been jumping hurdles for the remainder of practice, and while he's always been good at them, today he couldn't make it to all ten.

"Care to explain your shit performance today?" Eren bent down and rested his hands on his knees, internally rolling his eyes at his coach's bluntness.

"I have a lot on my mind, I got distracted." It still amazed Eren how much on an effect Levi had on him, even changing the way he acted on the track.

"Well cut it out, unless you want to be busting your ass on these things. Those hurdles better have your full attention tomorrow, understood?" Eren nodded. "Good, now get out of here."

"Wait," the brunet looked up. "Practice is over?"

Coach Sadies flipped the papers on his clipboard and turned around. "Yes. I can't watch you continue to fail any longer." Eren sighed in relief as the older man had left, clearing the hurdles off the track before he joined the group.

"Jean, just go talk to him," he heard Connie say as he walked up to them. 

"Yeah dude," Floch added, "poor guy looks so out of place right now. You never know, he could be here for you."

Eren stood beside the red head and shook his head. "I said the same thing, horse face was too stubborn to believe me." Jean dead eyed him before he glanced over to the bleachers. Marco now was staring at his lap, a frown visible on his face. 

"Fine," Jean said. Originally, he didn't plan on saying anything but seeing the dark haired male upset changed his mind. "I'll go." Floch, Eren and Connie widened their eyes, watching as their friend left the gate and made his way to the bleachers.

Jean didn't want to walk too fast, using the little time he had to think of what he was going to say. It was his first time he's ever saw him out here, so he thought it would be best to ask him the reasoning behind it first. 

Once he finally reached his crush, he sat down on the row below him. "Marco?"

The freckled boy looked up, nervously fiddling with his hands. "O-oh. H-hi Jean." Jean paused.

"You know my name?"

Marco sheepishly smiled, "Well y-yeah, just about everyone in school knows your name." The ashen males heart fluttered at the way his crush acted around him, especially considering this was their first real interaction.

"You know, it's not everyday that Marco Bott watches a track practice," he teased, slowly becoming more comfortable around him. 

Marco giggled. _He giggled._ And if that wasn't the cutest thing ever, Jean didn't know what was. 

"I came to watch someone." He froze when he saw Jean widen his eyes. "No! Not like that, I'm not a stalker I swear. It's just someone I've been interested in for a while." He spoke the last sentence quietly, but Jean heard every word.

"Oh," he sighed. He didn't know why he felt disappointed right then, it's not like he knew who Marco was there for. He just knew the chances of it being him were slim. "So who's the lucky girl?"

"Oh, um-" The dark hair male stopped, looking off to the side. "It's not a girl." He didn't want to make eye contact with Jean, afraid he would be disgusted with him. Jean was out as bi, but Marco didn't talk to enough people to know that. For all he knew, Jean could be a straight homophobic asshole.

"Well then, who's the lucky boy?"

"What?" Marco faced the boy again, noticing he wasn't disgusted at all. In fact, it was a comforting look. "You're not disgusted?"

"Disgus- What? No. Wait, why would I be disgusted?" 

"Because I'm gay. I didn't know how you would react." Jean never knew what exactly Marco's sexuality was either, but hearing that he had a better chance with the boy now made him feel relieved.

"Marco, I'm not exactly straight myself." Marco's mouth dropped open. "There's actually a guy I've been interested in for a while too."

"There is?"

Jean nodded, surprising himself with his own confidence. "There is. He's really smart and probably the most adorable person I've ever met." Marco didn't know what to say, only sitting there hoping he would continue. "I don't think he likes me back, though."

"I don't see why he wouldn't like you back." The freckled boy responded, regretting it after. He didn't want to make a fool of himself.

Jean contemplated whether or not he should have just came out and said it, or if he should drop hints and hope Marco would pick up on them. It didn't help that he didn't know who Marco liked, realizing it could be anyone out on the track right now. The two never interacted before, so it would make sense if he didn't like Jean.

"Well," he began. "For one, I don't know if I'm his type. Two, he's at my track practice, probably wishing one of my teammates was sitting here instead of me." His sudden boldness shocked him, but made him feel proud as well. He grinned up at the boy, hoping he would understand what he was getting at. Finally, he did.

"Wait, you like me?" Jean nodded. "No way! I like you too!" Marco was loud, probably to the point where Eren and the others could hear them, but he didn't care. His crush liked him back.

"What? You're not just saying that?"

"No!" Marco happily exclaimed. "I really do! I know we've never talked alone before but I've always found you really cute. I just sort of thought you would never like someone like me back."

Jeans had butterflies. It was normal for Marco to have that effect on him, but this time it was different. It was because after all that time of crushing, he finally learned his feelings were reciprocated.

"Marco Bodt," Jean said, grabbing the freckled boys hands. "If only you knew." They smiled at each other for a minute, before Jean remembered he was probably being watched. "Hey, so I'm pretty sure me and some of the others are going to Sina's. You want to come?"

"Will they like me?" Marco asked nervously.

"Even if they don't, I like you." Marco blushed and nodded, still holding onto Jean's hand as they stood and walked back down to the track.

**

Hange's car had gotten fixed but because they had to go somewhere, Levi rode with Eren to Sina's, granted he wasn't the only one in the car with him. Sasha sat in the passenger seat, leaving the back to Connie, Armin and Levi. Marco suggested Jean ride with him, to which no one had issues with since it gave them more seating room.

Once they had arrived and entered the diner, they retrieved to their normal booth and ordered their food.

"So Marco," Connie said, turning to face the freckled boy who sat beside him. "I don't think any of us expected you to like Jean back. At all. Like what do you see in him? Out of everyone in the school, why J-"

"Connie," Jean growled. 

"Well," Marco chuckled, "Jean was the epitome of my type. He was athletic, I knew he was funny-"

"Pause," Eren interrupted, holding his hand out. "Funny? I think you're giving him too much credit." Jean glared daggers at the brunet.

"I finally talk to him like you guys wanted and this is how I get treated." The group erupted into laughter, Levi being the only one with a straight face. Normally he would have forced himself to be engaged in these conversations, but something was nagging at him. That something sitting directly across from him, purposely ignoring him.

"Hey," Sasha whispered, lightly elbowing him. He glanced over. "Is everything okay?"

He nodded, "Peachy." The girl titled her head.

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

She slumped her shoulders. "Why won't you tell me? We're supposed to be friends." Levi was surprised no one had heard them talking, but they were too engaged in their own conversations with the new addition to their group to even notice. Bless Marco for that. 

He clicked his tongue, "Because it's none of your damn business, that's why." Sasha would have been offended if she didn't know the type of person Levi was, but his attitude didn't phase her. Instead, she piped up.

"Aha," she whispered with a smirk, "so there is something wrong."

_Damnit._

He didn't get the chance to respond when a certain bearded man came with their food, and if Levi had never appreciated Zeke Jaeger before, he did now.

When they began to dig in, Levi heard his name being called. 

"Levi right?" The raven looked over at the freckled boy talking to him, probably trying his best to make friends with everyone since he'd be around more.

"That would be me," he answered, taking a bite out of his salad.

Marco smiled. "Jean mentioned you were new on the team. How do you like it so far?" In Levi's opinion, the boy was far too nice that it could have been considered annoying, but he figured he should cut him some slack. He wasn't as shy as Marco, but he knew what it was like to be the 'new addition' around these people. 

Levi shrugged. "It's not bad. Definitely not what I thought it was." Marco tried to respond, but someone beat him to it.

"Yeah, I know what that's like," Eren said. Levi glared at him, unable to make out exactly what kind of expression was on the brunets face.

"I'm sorry?"

"You know," Eren continued, "when you've made up your mind about something, but it surprises you and it's not at all what you thought it was." If Levi wasn't confused before, he definitely was now. By the way Eren was glaring at him, he could tell it had a deeper meaning.

"Actually," Levi said, shifting around in his seat a little. "I don't know. Please do explain, Eren." In that moment everyone else seemed to disappear, or at least that's what it felt like, but he could have sworn he heard Armin mutter an 'Oh god.' His eyes were fixated on no one else except the brunet in front of him.

"Just what I said, that's all." Levi furrowed his brows, growing quite annoyed at the brats attitude.

"I'm afraid I don't follow." He was too intrigued in his own conversation that he didn't even notice his friends around them giving each other confused looks.

"Okay!" Armin exclaimed, forcing out a laugh, "let's move on. Marco, you said the band is playing at the school carnival next month, yeah?" After that, the blonde shot Eren a look, almost as if he knew something, and forced his gaze back to the freckled boy when Marco started talking. 

Levi looked down at his salad and back up, noticing green eyes that were piercing his own. Eren almost looked angry, and part of Levi wished the brunet would have explained himself further. 

**

"I bet I can beat you guys to the cars," Connie suggested as they walked out of the diner, smirking. Everyone besides Eren exchanged glances before taking off. Marco looked rather confused, but Jean smiled and grabbed his hand, running off with him.

Leaving Levi with the brunet, he figured now would be the time to bring up the conversation from earlier. He didn't bother following behind the others, instead he stood in place outside the doors to the diner. 

"You want to tell me what the hell that was about?" Eren stopped walking and turned around.

"Oh wow, you're actually talking to me. Give me a minute to take this in," he retorted in a sarcastic tone and it was enough to make Levi lose his composure.

"Okay, what the fuck is your problem?"

"My problem?" Eren asked, pointing to himself as he stepped towards the shorter male. "I don't have a problem, in fact I'm fine. Im not the one who almost kisses people and then proceeds to ignore them."

Levi's face turned into one of anger. "What the hell? Communication works two ways, brat."

"Right, except knowing the type of person you are, I expected you to at least say _something._ "

"The kind of person I am? What the hell does that even mean?" This definitely wasn't what Levi had expected their first conversation to go since the kiss, but he was too annoyed to care.

Eren let out a laugh, although it was evident he didn't find anything amusing. "Yeah, you're blunt as hell and you speak your mind, too much without thinking. Guess I surprised when I didn't hear from you."

Levi stepped closer.

"Yeah, and you're a overly cocky brat who tends to speak _his_ mind, so color _me_ surprised when I didn't hear from you either. You can be so stupid, you know that?" Levi didn't notice how much his words had hurt Eren, not that he could anyways with the irritated expression on the brunets face.

"Yeah, guess I was a little stupid to even think you felt something as well. I get it now. We bonded over our dead parents and we were both vulnerable at the time, but if that's all it was you could have said that much." Levi clenched his fist, knowing he wasn't going to actually hurt Eren but the words coming from his mouth were enough to agitate him. Deciding he shouldn't argue with the boy anymore, he sighed.

"It's not right to assume, brat."

"Right," Eren said, letting out another one of those laughs. "Except it's hard not to assume when you've already confirmed it yourself." Noticing the confused look on Levi's face, he continued. "I overheard your conversation with Hange this morning. You were never even interested in me. You led me to think you were, but I guess that's also the kind of person you are." 

Levi _definitely_ hadn't expected that. 

At this point, he was furious. He may have seemed calm on the outside, but how dare Eren paint _him_ as the bad guy?

"You didn't let me finish," Levi said. He walked beside Eren, stopping so that they were beside each other, facing opposite directions.

"Next time, don't assume someone has feelings for you."

And with that, he walked off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn Levi


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Study sessions and Levi’s first track meet

"You sure your uncle doesn't mind me being here?" Sasha asked as Levi fiddled the key in the front door. There was no practice and the two had a chemistry project they had to work on, and while it was due in two weeks, Levi had always been one to finish his work early.

"He's not even home," the raven answered, opening the door. "Even if he was, he wouldn't care." Sasha followed him inside, removing her shoes when she noticed him doing the same. She shut the door behind them.

Levi walked across the living room and turned around, noticing Sasha who still stood nervously at the door clutching her back pack.

"For fucks sake Sasha, I'm not gonna murder you and stuff your body in my basement. Sit down." 

She laughed nervously, making her way to the sofa. "I know that. I get nervous when going to peoples houses for the first time." Levi clicked his tongue and placed his book-bag on the floor beside Sasha's.

"Evidently. You want something to eat?" And just like that, Sasha felt at ease.

"You have no idea. What are my options?" She asked, pulling out her supplies needed to work on their project.

"Give me a sec," he answered briefly, walking into the kitchen. Moments later, Sasha heard him come back, looking up to see him holding a bag of Chex Mix in question. She eagerly nodded, catching the bag he tossed her way.

Levi joined her on the couch as she wasted no time digging into the bag, holding it out to him. "Want some?"

He grimaced and pushed the bag away, "don't talk with your mouth full, it's fucking disgusting." She frowned but it didn't last long when he pulled out his materials as well. She placed the bag aside.

"So! Any idea what we're doing?" She asked, scanning the project guidelines paper. None of the examples given seemed like something she would enjoy, and Levi couldn't say he was intrigued either.

"Hm." Levi looked away from the paper thinking for a minute, before an idea struck him. "Two years ago Erwin had this project and he turned milk into plastic, it seemed pretty interesting at the time."

"Yeah but," the girl stopped, examining the paper again, "it's not on the paper."

"Tch. I'll be damned if I do one of those 'default projects.' Besides, Pixis included those as examples. It wasn't on Erwin's paper, either."

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts," Levi interrupted, taking her sheet and setting it on the coffee table. "You want to do this shit or not?" Sasha thought it over, Levi giving her enough time to think since it was her project as well.

"I'm in," she smiled. 

**

Sasha groaned, her head falling to rest on Levi's notebook that rest in his lap. "We've been at this for an hour and I still don't see any plastic milk."

Levi rolled his eyes, "first of all, get the hell off of me. Second of all, we have to be able to explain the procedure, the same procedure you're supposed to be looking up. Maybe if you didn't take so many phone breaks." She quickly leaned up and stared him down.

"Can't we just call it a day, please. We have two weeks Levi," she begged, tugging on his sleeve.

He jerked his arm away and set his materials on the coffee table, "you're a pain to work with, you know that? I'll be right back, I have to piss." Sasha chuckled at how serious Levi sounded. 

Moments after he had left, she began to reach for the Chex Mix bag until her phone rang. She looked at who could be calling her before bringing the phone up to her ear.

"Eren?"

 _"Hey Sash,"_ the voice on the other end of the line spoke. _"What's up?"_

"Nothing really, hanging out at Levi's for the afternoon. Something wrong?"

 _"Levi's?"_ Eren asked, his tone immediately changing.

"Yeah, we're getting a head start on our Chemistry project. Is everything okay?" She questioned, immediately remembering how the two had been acting around each other. It's not like they had been subtle about it.

 _"Yeah, actually it can wait. Look I have to go but I'll talk to you later!"_

"Didn't you need something? Eren?" But it was too late. He had already hung up by, leaving Sasha all the more confused. Too lost in her own thoughts, she didn't hear Levi come back into the room.

"You were talking to Eren?"

Her head snapped up. "What? Oh, right. Yeah, he was acting pretty weird." Levi hummed in response and sat back down.

"What did he say?" The raven asked, noticing the way Sasha was staring at the wall, almost as if she was trying to piece things together.

"He was fine when I picked up, but got all tense when I said I was at your house." Levi remained silent, knowing exactly why that was but he wouldn't admit it out loud.

"Levi?" Sasha spoke, now looking at the raven.

"Hm."

"What happened between you and Eren?" Levi tore his gaze away from the girl, irritated at how fast she had came to that conclusion.

"Me and Eren are fine."

"Bullshit." Levi looked back at her with surprise. "You two had been ignoring each other all week, and I saw you two having a conversation at the diner yesterday. Even from where I was standing, you looked pretty mad, Eren too. Oh, and don't even mention today at lunch, those snarky comments towards each other."

Damn, Levi didn't even realize the others had noticed.

"Eren's just a brat," Levi explained, "And annoying, and way too cocky. Forgive me for not dealing with that shit." He hoped that was enough for his friend to believe him, however, that was not the case.

"Still," she said quietly, looking away and tapping her finger to her chin. "There's something else I remember."

"And what's that?"

"That night at Eren's." _Oh._ "When Armin opened the door, Jean and Connie were too tired to notice but I saw you two jump away from each other. Almost as if something happened, or was about to happen." Levi could have smacked Sasha for how fast she put things together, wishing she used that gift for their project instead.

"Hell Sasha, what are you, a damn spy?" The girl chuckled and Levi looked away. He wasn't an obvious person, he wasn't, but the way Hange and Sasha were quick to notice things really made him wonder. He quickly reminded himself that he had nothing to worry about, because what Hange said wasn't true and if Sasha jumped to the same conclusion, he would assure her it wasn't true as well.

"Levi?"

"What." He turned to her and saw the smirk she had plastered on her face. "Get that shit eating grin off of your face. What, Braus?"

"Do you like him?"

_What the hell?_

"No." For a second, he didn't believe his own words, but quickly pushed those thoughts aside. He didn't like Eren Jaeger. Besides, he's only known him for almost two weeks. 

"Does Eren like you?" 

Did he? He thought back to last night, remembering Eren's words. 'Yeah, guess I was a little stupid to even think you felt something as well.' As well. The boy practically told him he liked him, and he rejected him in the worst way possible. He could justify his actions, though. Maybe if the boy had come to him to talk about what happened instead of causing a scene and ignoring him, things would be much different. 

"Hell if I know."

"Hm. And you're sure you don't like him?" 

"What the hell is this, an interrogation?"

She rolled her eyes and let out a small laugh. "I'm just saying. I've seen this happen before. Before Floch and his girlfriend got together, the two of them completely ignored each other, although it was clear as day they liked each other."

Levi clicked his tongue. "Yeah well I'm not Floch, and Eren isn't his girlfriend." It annoyed him how fast people were to assume he liked the brunet. He had only met him not too long ago, and seeing as he knew what Eren's personality was, it was easy to convince himself he didn't like him.

Still, that wasn't the only Eren he knew. There was the Eren that gave him a ride home from school, the one who practically let him lay in his lap during the thunderstorm.

The Eren who had understood him when he talked about his mother.

It still didn't mean he liked him, however. He just found _that_ Eren more tolerable.

"I know that," she continued. "But things were fine between you two up until Saturday. So this leads me to my final question. Before me, Armin, and the others came out that night, did something happen between you two?"

 _Damn, she was good._ He could have told her, but knowing Sasha, the whole group would know. Besides, he wasn't exactly the type to (almost) kiss and tell. 

_Fuck it,_ he thought to himself, _she would assume it anyways._

"He almost kissed me."

Sasha gasped. "I knew it! Wait, 'almost?'"

"Yes, 'almost,'" he said irritably, "And how the hell did you know it?"

"I just know things. Who do you think found out Jean liked Marco?" Levi rolled his eyes.

"I don't know, who?" Sasha laughed and playfully slapped his arm.

"Me, of course! But that's besides the point. So, when you 'almost' kissed him, what did you feel? We're you getting nervous? Oh! Better yet, would it have been your first kiss?"

Levi knew he'd be lying if he said he didn't have a strange feeling in his stomach when Eren was leaning in. He remembered not being able to pull away or do anything except copy the brunets movements. The one thing he'd never admit was how irritated he grew when the door opening cut them off, but that didn't matter. To Levi, it was all in the heat of the moment and would never happen again. 

"Tch. And here I thought you had already asked me my final question."

"Why are you denying your feelings for him?"

"That's another question, you little shit."

"That doesn't answer it, though."

"How do you know I'm not straight?"

"Your pride sticker on your laptop should be any indication. Why are you denying your feelings?"

"Because I don't like him," he finally answered. "Eren Jaeger is a tempered brat who I've come to realize is extremely childish, and cocky but that was a given. Any more questions?"

Sasha closed her eyes and shook her head. "You have a cold heart Levi." He smirked.

"Cheers to that one."

**

Levi was dreading today

Not that it was his first track meet. No, Levi Ackerman could definitely handle that, especially with how good he's been doing. What he was dreading was the fact he was now heading over to Eren's house before the meet. He hated this little tradition of theirs, but as long as Hange was going, he had to. His uncle couldn't take him since he worked, so Hange was his only ride. He cursed himself for never getting his license. 

"You're awfully quiet today."

Speak of the devil.

"Fuck off, four eyes."

"Ouch," they teased. "I'm serious though. Usually you'd be complaining about how early it is, or just complaining in general." Levi glanced over at his best friend.

"I do not complain."

"On the contrary, shorty," they smiled, and Levi only clicked his tongue in response. They finally pulled into Eren's driveway, Levi wishing he could just wait in the car. He didn't, however, knowing Hange would sense something was up. Sasha too.

Once they left the vehicle and grabbed their things, the front door was being opened. "Hey guys!" The voice exclaimed, and Levi immediately recognized it.  
He internally groaned, hoping Sasha wouldn't bring up their conversation from Wednesday. Sasha hadn't came over to his house anymore, and for two reasons. One, he figured they did have enough time to complete it, and two, he wanted to avoid as many conversations as he could involving a certain brunet.

The two of them made their way to the porch, Hange already walking up the steps into the house. Levi tried to, he did, but he knew Sasha was going to stop him. She stood on the top step, and before Levi could walk past her she spoke up.

"You okay?"

He sighed. "Sasha give me one reason why I _wouldn't_ be okay." She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes.

"You know exactly why."

"You do realize it's not enough for me to even be remotely upset over, right?" He walked past her and before she could get a word in, he opened the door. Like last Saturday, everyone sat around the living room with no Eren in sight. 

He looked for an empty spot on one of the couches and was relieved when he saw one beside Armin. "Hey," he muttered to the blonde as he sat down.

"Oh, h-hey Levi." By the way Armin's voice sounded and how skeptical he looked, he couldn't help but assume Armin knew what had happened. It made sense why he did, seeing as he was Eren's best friend. The kid probably thought he was an asshole, and most likely felt so intimidated by Levi that he had to be nice to him.

The morning went as he guessed any Saturday morning did. The others too engulfed in the TV, Zeke making them eggs, Eren still being up in his room. Almost as if on cue, he heard footsteps running down the stairs. "Okay guys I'm-" Levi's head shot around and he wished it hadn't. Eren stopped talking when his eyes met Levi's, and anger became visibly written on his face.

"Alright, Eren's down and there's not a cloud in sight!" Zeke announced, clapping his hands together. "Everyone, get your asses in the cars." Eren finally broke off his eye contact with Levi, clutching his bag before he left the house.

"Hey Levi," Sasha said as everyone got up from their spots. The raven turned to her, afraid she would bring anything up but luckily she didn't. "Who are you riding with?" 

"Might ass well ride with shitty glasses, I did on the way over here," He answered, but Hange shot him a look.

"Oh, I usually ride with someone else when it's time to leave. Ymir's car is usually full, so I either opt for riding with Zeke or Eren." _Not bad,_ he thought to himself. He could just ride with Zeke. That was until he remembered seeing the other car besides Eren's in the driveway. It was a worn down truck, enough to only fit three people in the front. 

"Right. So is there room for me in Zeke's truck?" He ignored the way Sasha glanced at him due to his question. 

"Well," Connie spoke, "Me and Jean were going to ride with him, but I can ride with Eren. No biggie." Instead of asking bullshit like 'are you sure,' Levi nodded, internally thanking Connie.

Soon, they were all leaving the house with their bags with them, Levi feeling as if he should have brought one with him as well. He hadn't thought about bringing things such as snacks, so he secretly hoped there would be vendors.

"Ymir, Eren!" Zeke called out as he opened his truck door, "Be careful on the roads." They nodded and began to get situated in their cars, and Levi could have swore he heard Eren scoff when he saw the raven get into Zeke's truck.

**

With the car situation from earlier, Levi didn't expect to end up on a bus. Buses were dirty, and not to mention the fact that Eren was sitting across the isle from him, shooting him death flares. He tried to ignore it, even forcing himself to listen to Hange who sat beside him. It did him no good, though, because he would find himself glancing at the brunet as well. Luckily the school the meet was at wasn't far away, not that Levi really cared that much about it anyways. All he wanted was to get off the bus and be around _anyone_ else.

"Levi," a voice from the front called out. The raven looked above the seats to see Erwin standing, holding a bag. Erwin, being as involved as he was with the team, attended the meets as well. 

"I sort of guess on your size," The blonde continued, walking down the isle to Levi's seat. "But here. You can change when we get there, it's what everyone else does." Levi took the bag from his hands, furrowing his brows up at the man.

"What the hell is this?"

"Open it."

He did so, carefully pulling out the clothing items from the bag. The first thing he looked at was a pair of black compression shorts, that immediately caused him to widen his eyes. He had never seen, or even wore a pair of shorts that looked so tight.

"Is this some sort of joke?" The raven asked, looking back up at his friend. Erwin chuckled.

"Of course not, compression shorts come with a lot of benefits to runners." Levi narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not a runner."

"That is true," Erwin said, looking off to the side. "Okay, seeing as you throw, the sweatpants you have on should be good. You are required to wear the shirt, however." Levi clicked his tongue and pulled out the second item, holding it up and examining it closely. It was a sleeveless maroon compression top made of the same material, and in the middle it had 'Shiganshina Titan's' written in big letters. 

_Not bad,_ he thought to himself.

Erwin took Levi's silence as approval and returned to his seat. By the time Levi looked up from the piece of clothing, they were pulling into what appeared to be the school.

"Listen up, asshats," Coach Sadies, who was driving the bus, announced. "Meet up with JV once you get off the bus so you know where to sit. After that, do whatever that hell you want until your event."

Levi leaned into Hange's side. "JV?"

"Junior Varsity," they answered. "That's the team all the 9th to 11th graders are on." Levi quickly pulled away and stared at them dumbfounded.

"You mean to tell me we're not the only team at our school? Where do they even practice?" Hange chuckled, leaving their friend all the more confused.

"Of course were not the only team, and they practice with the middle schools team. In case you were wondering, yes, the middle school has their own team." Levi rolled his eyes.

"No shit, Sherlock." Hange laughed and grabbed their things as the bus came to a stop, leaving their seat. Levi followed behind, passing Eren who was waiting in his seat for everyone to get through. Either that, or he wanted a chance to dead eye Levi some more. Levi could ignore it, so that wasn't the problem. The problem was why he _wasn't_ ignoring it. It's like somehow, his eyes would fall back on the brunets and it started to seem like it was beyond his control.

Once everyone was off the bus, Erwin led the group to the track so they could find where the JV team were seated, which didn't take long due to a calling of the blondes name.

"Erwin!" A female voice shouted. Everyone simultaneously turned to where it had come from. Levi saw a group of students sitting on the grass outside of the track gate. If the maroon compression shirts were any indication, Levi knew it was the JV team.

"Hey Isabel," the blonde replied. The girl, Isabel, stood up and hugged Erwin, to which he stumbled backwards due to how tight her grip was. "Alright," he laughed. "Get off me, I can't breathe." She did so, retreating to her spot on the ground beside a blonde kid and a girl with brown hair. 

"Quit hugging people weirdo," Floch said as he came up from behind them, his arm slung over a girls shoulder. Isabel rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at the red head.

"Isabel there," Hange said, placing their hand on Levi's shoulder and leaning down. "That's Floch's sister. Beside her is Falco and Gabi. Gabi is Reiner's cousin." Levi turned his head and furrowed his brows.

"Why are you telling me the names of _children_?" Hange rolled their eyes.

"Those are the JV members were closest with. And another, but I don't see Farlan anywhere." Levi nodded in disinterest, knowing he wouldn't interact with the JV team as much anyways. "Besides," Hange continued. "They're in tenth grade. I wouldn't consider them children."

"Tch. Still younger than me."

Both teams continued to hang around their area, Eren shooting Levi more death glares from the tree he stood under. He could also see Mikasa giving him similar looks, which only led him to believe that she knew as wel. Luckily he didn't have to deal with it much longer, because Erwin clapped his hands together and prepared to address the group.

"Everyone listen up!" The conversation amongst everyone died down, giving the blonde their full attention. "Go get changed if you haven't already. Throwers and pole vault people, I think your events start in thirty minutes. Runners, we still have a little more time." Everyone nodded, grabbing their bags and heading to a building, which Levi guessed were the bathrooms. 

Hange began pulling their sweatpants down, which would have scarred Levi had they not already had their compression shorts on underneath it. They removed their sweatshirt as well, revealing the compression shirt as well.

"Don't give me that look, Levi," they said, tilting their head. "I'd like to say I come prepared."

"That's a first," he muttered. "I'm going to change my shirt, don't leave without me shitty glasses." Hange snorted and nodded. 

Once Levi reached the bathroom and stepped inside, he grimaced. He _hated_ public bathrooms. Absolutely despised them. He didn't even use the ones at his own school. If holding his bladder in all day was the price he had to pay for refusing to step inside the filthy place, he couldn't complain. Making a mental note to do as Hange did and wear his shirt under his hoodie next time, he found an empty stall. It didn't take long to change tops, and once he did, he left the stall. Over by the mirror, there were guys checking themselves out and flexing their muscles, Reiner being one of them. 

_Why did he agree to this shit again?_

He walked up to the sinks, cleansing himself of whatever germs he picked up from being inside the place. A stall door opened, instinctively causing him to look up into the mirror. He didn't think much about it until he did a double take, and was at a complete loss of words.

There Eren Jaeger stood, compression shorts and everything. He's seen Eren shirtless before, but the sleeveless top really brought emphasis to his arm muscles and - _Oh my god, he's turning around_ \- Levi's eyes shamelessly fell to the brunets ass.

And he couldn't even lie, it looked _amazing_ with how tight the shorts were.

Before Eren could turn around again and catch him, he dried his hands and attempted to leave. However, not being able to get away that quickly, he bumped into the brunet. 

"Oh shit, my ba-" Eren stopped once he saw who it was, but he didn't look angry. Instead, his eyes fell to Levi's _exceptionally_ defined arm muscles. Levi huffed.

"My eyes are up here, brat."

Eren looked back up, and put on his normal angry expression Levi's grown oh so fond of. "Sorry, I was just- You know, I don't think maroon is your color."  
Levi knitted his brows.

"Is that an insult?"

"Maybe," Eren said, shrugging and crossing his arms. 

"Right," Levi dragged out, internally laughing at the way it made Eren irritated. "Well, if you don't mind, I have an event to tend to." He smirked and walked off, not being able to see the dramatic eye roll Eren gave him. He arrived back with both of the teams, deeming it best to wait for the rest of the throwers before they walked to the field.

Moments later, he and Hange were making their way to their events, along with Reiner, Sasha, Hitch, Nanaba and Christa. He grew rather confused when instead of going inside the gate, they walked past the track.

"Where the hell are you guys going? The fields right there."

Christa looked at him confused, before understanding what he meant. "Oh! Right. Our events are on a separate field. It gives us more room, we need it considering how many schools were going up against."

"And how many might that be?" He asked.

"Seven today," Hitch chimed in, linking arms with Nanaba as they all walked down a hill to another field. It was bigger than he had expected, and from where he was he could see each event.

"People are already in line," Sasha said to Hange, and they quickly left to where the pole vault event was taking place. "Good luck Levi!" Sasha shouted as she ran. Hitch and Reiner were heading to the shot put area as well, Levi following Nanaba to the discus throw.

"There's a net," he observed, it sounding more like a statement than a question. Nanaba chuckled.

"Of course there's a net. Could you imagine how many people would get knocked out by a disk if there _weren't_ a net?"

"Fair enough."

**

An hour had passed before Levi finally finished his event, Nanaba waiting for him since the girls went first. He placed fifth, but in order to get a medal you had to be top three. It didn't bother him, however, because he still knew he did good. 

"You should be proud, shorty," Nanaba said as they walked up the hill. The pole vault and shot put events were still taking place, so he and Nanaba would join the rest of the team back in their spot.

"I'll show you 'shorty,'" he mumbled. 

She chuckled, "I'm serious. It being your first meet and all, fifth place is good. I'd say you're a natural." 

"Thanks, but I'm not letting someone who got second place tell me how good I did." She playfully elbowed him as they continued to walk back. The two of them had developed a good relationship, Levi finding Nanaba more tolerable than the others. They all were friends of course, but he had felt closest with Hange and Nanaba, Sasha at times too.

"You should have seen the way the girls were watching you," she teased.

"Tch. Little do they know." She didn't understand what he meant at first, but was able to put the pieces together rather quickly.

"Wait, really?" He nodded. "Huh, I always wondered what you were. That means you're just gay, right?" Levi rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Nanaba. I am a raging homosexual with no interest in women whatsoever, hope you didn't have a thing for me or whatever." 

The girl snorted, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're not my type." They walked in silence until they reached the others, Levi taking a seat on the first empty spot he saw. He hated sitting directly on the grass, but his legs _hurt_.

"Oh my gosh!" A voice exclaimed from beside him. He turned and his eyes were met with Isabel's, the same two kids that were there earlier and an additional boy with blonde hair. "You're new on the team!"

"And you're quite observant," he responded with no emotion. He wasn't a mean person. He wasn't. The girl was just excessively hyper and he was already tired.

"Well whats your name? I'm Isabel by the way!" She crawled closer to him, too close to his liking but he didn't say anything. 

"Levi." He looked away, hoping to give her the hint he wasn't interest in conversation. It may have been a rude thing to do, but he was just never good with social skills. Though, he has been getting better whether he liked to admit it or not, and it was all because of this team.

"Give him some space, Iz," another girl, who he remembered as Gabi, said while pulling Isabel back. "Sorry about her, she's a ball of energy."

"Evidently," he mumbled. Gabi looked as if she was ready to speak again, until someone else had beaten her to it.

"Careful talking to this one guys," Eren said from behind Levi. "He's dull as dishwater and that frown is probably the only expression you'll see on his face." Levi furrowed his brows and watched as Eren sat between him and the others. This wasn't anything new. Eren had said snarky remarks about Levi all week, so he wasn't too surprised.

"Eren you're being mean," Gabi said. 

"Actually," Levi interjected, "he's being childish. But that's just who he is, right Eren?" Eren narrowed his eyes. This whole situation really was childish, Levi couldn't lie.

"Say, Levi. Send anyone the wrong message lately?" Oh how Levi wished Mikasa or Armin would come interrupt them, but they were nowhere in sight. Gabi looked too confused to say anything, and even Isabel seemed different than her normal self. 

"Depends," the raven answered, shrugging. "Jump to any conclusions, lately?" 

Eren looked away. "Nah, people I talk to are usually good at telling me things how they are," he answered, before looking back and knitting his brows at the raven. "But you were never really good at that, right Levi?"

 _That's it_.

Levi shot up, grabbing the brunets arm and pulling him away to the building where the bathrooms were. He didn't about care who watched or, or even about the confused expression on Erwin's face.

And he certainly didn't care enough to notice Connie following behind them. 

He brought Eren to the back of the building, refusing to actually go inside the bathroom. It was fine, no one was near them so he could have a conversation with the brat in private. He shoved his arm away and stood in front of Eren, crossing his arms. The runner rubbed his arm where Levi had been gripping it and snorted.

"Let me guess. 'What the fuck is your problem?'"

"You're damn right," Levi snapped. "If you want to hate me, fine. I don't care. But if you're that mad at me, why bother at all?" Eren didn't say anything at first. He didn't exactly know what to say, because Levi was right. If he hated him so much, why not ignore him?

"You're an ass, you know that?" 

"No," Levi said, "You're just a shitty brat who can't handle rejection." He didn't mean to say it, but it was too late, and if Eren didn't hate him before, he did now.

"Wow," Eren said softly, and that's when Levi knew he hurt his feelings. Sighing, he stepped closer.

"Eren look-"

"No," he cut off, backing away. "You're right. I couldn't handle it at first, but I can now." At first Levi was starting to feel bad, the whole argument starting to feel pointless. That was until Eren continued talking. "It's for the best, anyways. I don't think I could ever be with someone like you."

_What the fuck?_

He stormed off, leaving Levi standing there with a strange feeling in his gut. Hearing those words come from anyone is never really something you _want_ to hear.

Moments later, he returned to the group as well. Armin and Mikasa were back, Eren explaining something to them, and Levi knowing exactly what it was. He hoped this whole situation didn't cause too much drama on his part. He really did. And if it did, he would simply leave, because things had been much easier before he joined the team in the first place.

**

"Were done!" Sasha exclaimed, running back to the group with Hange beside her. Reiner and Hitch followed behind, seeing as they were finished with their event too.

"Guys come here!" Connie called out as quietly as he could. The four of them noticed how all of the varsity team were gathered in a circle and quickly joined, thinking there was something important that was being discussed.

"Okay," Connie continued, "I don't have much time, but Levi went to get food and Eren is in the bathroom. Armin and Mikasa are gone too, so we don't have to worry about them-"

"Oh come on, spit it out!" Sasha whisper shouted. 

"Right! Okay, so I overheard a conversation between the two of them. I think you were right Sasha, Eren definitely likes him. I don't know about Levi, though." Everyone gasped, looking around to see if either of the two boys were around. The coast was clear, and they looked back in the circle.

"Are you serious?" Sasha questioned. Connie nodded, before looking aside.

"Well, I think. Then he said something about how he could never like someone like Levi. Then again, Levi did call him a 'brat who couldn't handle rejection." Hange's eyes widened.

"Levi rejected him? I knew something was going on between them!" The gossip surpised everyone else, but it was interesting nonetheless. It wasn't everyday two team members had relationship drama.

"Do we actually think Levi doesn't like him?" Jean asked. Connie shrugged, but Sasha shook her head.

"Levi's hard to read, but I think he's lying to himself. He acts different when he's around Eren."

"Yeah," Hange agreed. "He could be protecting himself. Levi doesn't let himself get close to people, for many reasons." They didn't explain any further, thinking that this was already enough being shared about the raven in the first place. 

"So what now?" Hitch asked. Everyone at this point was wondering the same thing.

"I think it's clear as day what we need to do," Sasha answered. Everyone gave her confused stares before she continued.

"We're going to get them together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sasha was obviously going to tell SOMEONE


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team finally makes a plan, but it backfires.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you see any spelling errors, no you don’t.

"Do we even know how this is going to work?" Jean asked as he sat down at the lunch table, Connie and Hange along with him. The three of them had been discussing their recent plans to get Levi and Eren together, though none of them knew exactly where to start.

Hange. shrugged. "Not really, I've never did something like this before. I told the others to think of something as well, but guys you know we can't tell Armin right?" The others simply nodded, before hearing a voice behind them.

"Can't tell me what?" Armin and Eren were now joining the others at the table, leaving everyone completely unsure of what to say. Glancing at each other a few times, Jean spoke up.

"Well I guess we have to tell him now, right guys?" Connie furrowed his brows, Hange sitting confused as well. The two of them contemplated kicking him under the table, but deemed it best to not do anything until he finished talking. Jean wasn't stupid enough to say anything with Eren around.

"We were planning you a surprise birthday party, although not so much of a surprise now." He playfully smacked the Armin's arm, "Too bad you ruined it." 

"My birthdays in November," Armin said skeptically. Jean nervously smiled.

"Early planning?" The blonde shook his head, still unsure whether to believe Jean or not but it wasn't enough to dwell over. Moments later, Sasha and Levi were joining to group as well. Eren couldn't bring himself to look at the raven, or even look up from his food in general. He was off all day, and if his friends didn't know the reason why, they would've questioned him.

"So," Sasha began, trying to break the awkward silence. "What did we miss?"

Armin picked at his food. "I found out about the surprise birthday party you guys were planning for me." Sasha furrowed her brows and the others could only hope she would go along with it. 

"We were planning a surprise party for you?" Almost immediately after, she felt a kick to her shin. She glared at Jean who was widening his eyes and basically inaudibly telling her to go along with it.

"Oh! Yeah, I forgot all about that. Guess it's.." She trailed off, looking around to see Hange and Connie giving her the same expression Jean had. "Not so much of a surprise now." She would be sure to question them later. 

Levi hadn't bothered to say a word either, not really caring for conversation anyways. It was awkward, yes. So awkward that he even considered asking Nanaba if he could sit with them. 

Then he realized just how bad that would be as well.

He couldn't exactly opt for sitting with Reiner and his group, seeing as Mikasa sat with them and practically hated the raven, if her glares were any indication. He could always drag Hange away and sit alone as they had before, but these were Hange's friends as well and that would just be selfish.

The more he looked at the situation, it wasn't as bad as he seemed. He's never been much for conversation anyways, and as long as Eren didn't talk to him, he didn't have to talk to him. The only problem was since Sasha had noticed how weird the two of them acted around each other, the others definitely would. Either that, or Sasha would tell them _something_.

Little did he know it was too late to be worrying about that.

"Eren are you listening?" 

The brunet jumped a little, snapping out of whatever he was in. Jean had been speaking to him, but he had been so lost in thought to even acknowledge his friend. 

"What?"

"I said," Jean answered, a hint of sternness in his voice. "How did my moms test go? I wouldn't put it past you to flunk it even after having the answers to it." As soon as Jean got the words out, Hange sat up in their seat, almost as if they were eager to hear the brunets reply. 

"You're not wrong," Eren said, resting his head in his hand while his elbow sat propped up on the table. "I made a D, but that's only because I didn't have time to look at the answers." Jean threw his hands out.

"What! I did not risk getting caught just for you to not use the answers, Jaeger." Before Eren could retort, Hange was mumbling under their breath.

"It's perfect." 

It wasn't loud, but everyone heard them. They weren't looking at their friends however. Instead, they were looking down at their tray, and it was only right for everyone to assume they were talking to themselves. 

"It's perfect!" 

Levi, finally breaking his silence, slightly jutted his head out. "What's perfect?" Hange looked up at him questionably, before realizing they had actually been talking out loud.

"Nothing! I was just, uh," they stopped, rubbing the back of their neck. "Thinking of my next invention! That's all." Levi rolled his eyes and continued eating. It wasn't hard for him to believe them, considering Hange had tried to invent many things. None of their big plans had ever been successful, but they had many small ones that worked.

After lunch had ended, the group had dispersed and left to their designated classes. Once Levi was out of sight, Hange eagerly pulled their phone out, opening the _'Operation Eren and Levi'_ group-chat. They had made it Saturday after the meet, already eager to get the two boys together. It really _wasn't_ everyday there was drama on the team.

_'group call after practice. i have a plan.'_

**

Since no one had went to Sina's, Hange was home in no time preparing for the call. They had been ready to talk about their plan all day, relieved that they could finally let the others in on it.

They jumped on their bed, not bothering to ask the others if they were ready. Instead, they simply face-timed the group. One by one, the others were joining in, their screens progressively getting smaller as more people came in the call. 

"Great! Now that everyone is here, I-" They stopped, taking notice of Jean's screen. They were all familiar with each other's houses, and it did not look like Jean was at his own. "Uh, Jean? Where are you?"

The male, who had been looking away at the time, turned back to the camera. _"I'm at Marco's house. I told him about the plan."_ He moved the phone so it showed both him and his boyfriend in the frame, the two of them lying on what was assumed to be Marco's bed. _"Say hey everyone."_ The speakers filled with 'Hey Marco's,' all to which the freckled boy responded back to. They all playfully teased the couple as they saw Jean move the camera away and lean in for a kiss.

Once the teasing had stopped, Hange finally began to say what they had been holding in all day. "Here's what I was thinking," they began, gaining everyone's undivided attention. "When Jean mentioned Eren failing his math test, everything clicked."

 _"Go on!"_ Sasha exclaimed. _"I want to get this thing started asap."_

"Levi is a math geek, and even saying that is an understatement. No matter what grade I was in, every time I had math and refused to do my assignments, he did them for me. He would complain but deep down he really loved it."  
The group stared at their phones for a while, still unaware of how this played into their plan.

 _"I knew something was off about him,"_ Christa mumbled. _"Who likes math?"_

 _"This doesn't give us anything,"_ Annie said. Hange rolled their eyes.

"Just listen, it will all make sense. I was thinking, why not set something up? Let Levi believe he gets to tutor, and let Eren know someone is willing to do it. Knowing shorty, he'll do it for free. Only thing is though, they can't know the other is doing it.” Everyone thought it over, realizing it wasn’t a bad plan, there was just some things they had to figure out. Sasha furrowed her brows.

 _“So like a blind... study date?”_ And with that, Hange was widening their eyes and eagerly nodding. 

“Yes! Yes, that’s exactly what it is.” Sasha mischievously smirked, clearly on board with the plan. “Look,” Hange continued, “I can talk to Levi and see if he’d be willing to tutor someone, I just need someone to talk to Eren and convince him.”

 _“I’ll do it,”_ Jean offered. _“I can say my mom set it up for him. He’s stubborn as hell but I’m sure I can get him to do it.”_

_“Slight problem,”_ Nanaba interjected. _“I’m sure Levi is going to want to know who he’s tutoring before he shows up, same with Eren.”_ She was right, and they all knew it. If it was known Eren would be opposed to the idea of having a tutor, he definitely wouldn’t do it without knowing who it was. Levi wasn’t any different, there are certain types of people he’d prefer not to study with, so he’d want to know as well.

Hange thought it over for a minute. It was a good plan, pretty much all they had to go on at this point. “Then we act like we don’t know. People get anonymous tutors all the time. I can get my part done, I just need to know that Jean can get through to Eren.”

 _“Oh, I can get through to him.”_

“Perfect,” Hange said. “Everyone on board?” Nodding heads filled the screen, as well as vocal responses. As long as they put their trust in Hange and Jean to convince the two boys, they knew the plan just might work.

“The plans in action then.”

**

“Please Levi,” Hange begged, dragging out the word ‘please.’ The two sat in the cafeteria as Hange munched on their breakfast, Levi never understanding why they didn’t just eat at home. It Wednesday and Sadies had canceled practice today, none of them knowing why but it didn’t matter. It was the perfect day for them to set their plan in motion. Hange knew Levi wouldn’t have any plans after school, and since there was no practice, Eren wouldn’t either.

“No, shitty glasses,” the raven answered sternly, studying his history notes. Also one of his best subjects.

“Levi, he really needs it, and who better to help him than the man with a math kink?” Levi glared up from his notebook. 

“Don’t ever say that again.” Hange rolled their eyes. “Besides, you said ‘a kid in my first period.’ That doesn’t give me anything.” _Just as expected._

“I don’t remember his name,” they answered, mouth full of food. Levi grimaced and looked back down to his notes, not bothering to say anything. “Just show up in the library and help him out. It’s not like you have anything better to do after school anyways. Unless you’d rather hang out with your uncle Kenny?”

“Kenny works,” Levi muttered, eyes still fixated on his history notes.

“Not the point. Will you do it?” After a couple seconds of silence, Levi looked up and locked eyes with his best friend. 

“Hange?”

Hange piped up and smiled. “Yeah?”

Seconds passed.

“Stop talking.”

**

“She did _what?_ ” 

Jean and Eren stood around in the locker room, and being the only ones left gave Jean the advantage to finally do his part. He told the brunet his mother had arranged for him a tutor, thinking that maybe if he thought it was mandatory, he would be less likely to skip it.

“She’s not doing it to be cruel.”

“On the contrary,” Eren mumbled, aggressively putting his gym shoes on. 

“I think you should go, maybe you might learn something and stop asking me to help you cheat all the damn time.” Eren narrowed his eyes as his friend, but he was right. He had considered getting a tutor many times, but never went through with it due to many reasons. For one, his attention span was not that long.

“Who’s the tutor anyways?” _Also as expected._ Jean shrugged.

“She didn’t tell me. She’s not a mean person, so I don’t think she’d give you someone unbearable.” What a lie. Eren and Levi would probably be at each other’s throats before they even had the chance to study.

Eren sighed. “I could just skip it.”

“You do that and I’ll never get answers for you again.” Eren’s mouth dropped open, causing Jean to smirk and cross his arms. This wasn’t Eren’s first time having Jean’s mother as a teacher, so Jean has helped him out many times before. It’s practically the reason he passed the class.

“Why does it matter?”

“I’m a good friend and I want to see you do good on your own.” Eren’s mouth, if possible, dropped even further. He knew something was up. Either that, or Marco changed him because he had never heard words even similar to those leave Jean’s mouth. 

Eren stood and closed his locker. “Bullshit, but whatever.”

“So are you going?”

He didn’t have a choice really, as far as he knew. It wasn’t that bad now that he thought about it either. Yes, it would get boring extremely fast, but if his tutor was good, he would understand _something._

“Don’t have much of a choice, do I?” Jean shook his head. “Then I guess I will.”

**

It was moments like this where Sasha was beyond grateful to be close with the librarian. Lynne, said librarian, was skeptical when Sasha had come in asking for the keys to the lounge room, but decided not to pry. She knew Sasha wasn’t a bad student, so whatever he intentions were, it most likely wouldn’t cause harm.

So now, here they were. Locked away in room made inside the library. It wasn’t large, but the size of the room didn’t matter. The window gave clear sight to everything happening inside the library, although thankfully there were curtains. They could move around freely, and all they had to do was pull the curtains back enough just to peak through. They were able to see everything.

The only ones who showed up to spy were Sasha, Hange, Connie, and Jean along with Marco. The others had plans already, but the ones present promised to fill them in on everything.

Outside of the library, Levi stood at the doors contemplating whether he should go in or not. The idea of having to explain things to a stranger didn’t sit well with him, but Hange was right. He had nothing better to do. Besides, he’d never pass up the opportunity to do math.

Sighing, he opened the door and found a seat an empty table, which were all the tables. No one was here yet, and he was beginning to think the little shit he’d be tutoring hadn’t bothered to show up. 

He tried to occupy himself the best he could. Doing things such as drawing or even reading, and having no idea he was being watched in the room to the left of him. 

Moments later, the doors being opened caused him to look up, hoping it was the student so he could hurry up and get it over with. 

Nope, it was just...

Eren?

The brunet locked eyes with Levi, before rolling them and sitting at a table of his own. It confused the raven, seeing Eren spend the afternoon off in a library. It made sense for himself, but it just didn’t seem like the runner.

“Oh my god,” Sasha said, peeking out of the curtains. Connie had came up behind her thinking something happened, only to see the two of them sitting tables away from each other. “They’re clueless.” By now all of them were looking out, hoping one of them would say something but still nothing. They were the only two in the library, both for the same reason. How hard was it to put it together?

Levi didn’t want to look up from his book, but his eyes acted on their own accord. Each time, he was met with the brunet quickly looking away, which only made things more awkward. At least at lunch, he never once made eye contact with him.

He could of dealt with it, really. At least until the student he was tutoring arrived. The only thing that made him question was the fact that Eren wasn’t _doing_ anything. No book in front of him, no homework, just the empty table. Had he come just to silently pester Levi again? God he hoped not. It was when Levi made eye contact with him again before he spoke up, because the silence was so unbelievably loud.

“You come here just to stare at me the whole time, or what?” Eren looked up, startled at first but put on his best neutral face.

“Nah. As a matter of fact, I’m waiting for my tutor to get here.” Levi slowly and skeptically nodded, looking down to his book before his head shot up again.

“Wait. What?”

Eren rolled his eyes. “Oh don’t act so surprised. It is so unbelievable that I want to do good in math?” Lie. He totally came because he thought he didn’t have a choice. Levi didn’t know that. Levi looked away, brows furrowing as if things were finally making sense. 

“Finally we’re getting somewhere,” Sasha whispered, although they wouldn’t be able to hear her anyways. They could barely hear the two boys as well, and the muffled voices were not anything to go by.

“Uh, Levi? It’s really not that surprising.” Levi shook his head.

“No, it’s not th-” He stopped, looking back to the brunet. “Eren, who told you to come here?”

“Excuse me?”

“Who told you to come here today?” Eren pondered over it for a moment, wondering why it mattered so much but answering anyways.

“Mrs. Kirstein. Actually, no, Jean did. He said she arranged it though. Why are you asking me this?” Levi took a deep breath and buried his face in his hands. There was no way he wanted to believe what he was thinking right now. 

“Did you hear this from Mrs. Kirstein herself? What’s the kids name?” Levi asked, voice muffled as he still hid his face with his hands. He couldn’t see the way Eren knitted his brows together, staring at him as if he had just said something stupid.

“Why are you asking me-”

“Answer the questions Eren.” He brought his head back up and made eye contact with the brunet once more. Eren sighed.

“No. Not Mrs. Kirstein didn’t mention anything to me. As far as the kids name, Jean didn’t tell me.” Eren couldn’t tell, but Levi was growing more irritated, huffing and rubbing his forehead while he tried to process everything. 

“Hange told me there was a kid who needed studying. Math. They didn’t tell me the students name, just that I was to meet him here after school.” Eren stared in confusion, wondering why Levi was telling him this before it all made sense. 

From Sasha and the others perspective, it looked as if they were having a normal conversation. One where they weren’t arguing. It looked tense, but neither one of them looked angry. Irritated, maybe, but not angry. They all smiled to themselves as they watched the conversation take place, completely unaware of what was actually being said.

“You don’t seriously think they- but wh-” Eren became a stammering mess. Who could blame him. How else would he feel after hearing his friends may or may not have set him up.

“We’ve been set up.” Levi said, almost as if he could read the brunets mind. They both stared off into space for a while, neither of which knowing what to think. It didn’t surprise him Hange had done something like this. They had been nagging him about Eren since last Wednesday. But it wasn’t just Hange. If Jean was in on it as well, then that meant he knew something, and if he knew something, then that meant-

Sasha.

Levi would strangle that girl when he gets the chance.

“What a waste of my time,” Levi mumbled. Eren scoffed.

“Of course it is. You know, you’re really something else Levi.” The raven looked at him, noticing the humorous yet obvious sarcastic look on his face. The same look he had wore during their conversation at the meet. Surely Eren wasn’t going to start arguing again, right? 

“What the hell are you going on about now, brat?”

“Would if have been a waste of your time if it was anyone else?”

“Yes,” he answered, his voice raising a little. Eren was angry because he assumed Levi didn’t want to be around him. It wasn’t all a lie, though. Levi was never a people person to begin with, but he definitely wouldn’t put himself around someone who basically screamed ‘I hate you’ with every look they gave.

“I don’t understand you.” 

Levi glared. “I never asked you to.”

“You’re a terrible person.”

“If that’s what you think.”

“You push away all you friends, or is it just me?” 

Deciding he had enough, Levi packed his things back in his bag and stood. He walked to the door, stopping at the brunets table. “I don’t care what you think of me, Eren, but let’s get one thing clear. We’re not friends.” 

Sasha and the others watched as he left the library, before the girl threw her hands out. “That’s it?”  
Connie sighed and flopped down on one of the sofas in the room. 

“We didn’t even consider the fact that one of them would leave.” Soon, they were all joined on the couch, sitting in defeat. They still hadn’t heard much, even the part where Levi knew they had been set up. They willingly accepted the failure, but none of them were eager to give up. 

**

Levi thought with yesterday’s situation, Eren would go back to ignoring him.

He was wrong.

It started before first period. He was passing Eren in the hall, making their normal, intense eye contact which Levi didn’t think much about, growing used to it in a way. It didn’t stop there. Eren purposefully bumped their shoulders together, even having the nerve to spit out a fake ‘I’m sorry.’ Levi could ignore that. He could definitely ignore it. 

Eren wouldn’t let him, however.

Lunch wasn’t going any better either. When Levi and Sasha sat down, the first thing the raven heard was a ‘Does he have to be here?’ His friends around him were confused, or at least acted confused (deceiving little shits) at why they were so tense around each other, but not daring to say a word. Levi had hoped Eren wouldn’t have actually said anything out loud, but he then realized he was giving the brunet far too much credit.

There was awkward tension everywhere at the table, not even any side conversations. Levi saw Jean mutter a ‘help me’ over to Marco’s table, but he didn’t blame him. He too wished he could get away from it.

Levi had been eating, the only thing he could really do, when he felt a kick to his shin. Looking up, he saw Eren grinning. “Sorry.” 

If the apologetic look on his face was any indication, he wasn’t actually sorry.

“Shitty fucking brat.” Everyone gave each other weird looks again, deeming it best to remain silent. As nerve racking as the kick was, if Eren gave more, he could ignore those as well. Maybe to the point where he would stop once he saw how little of an effect it had on Levi. 

But no, Eren had always been too stubborn for his own good.

The brunet raised his arms as if he was stretching, bringing them back down and accidentally, yet evidently on purpose, hit his cup with his arm. The cup fell over, sending all of its contents right in front of him and all Levi’s lap.

Water would have been better, but no. Eren had gotten milk that day. Strawberry milk.

Levi jumped back but there was nothing he could have done, because the pink liquid was already soaking into his pants. The others gasped, Armin smacking Eren’s arm but the brunet didn’t care. No, he didn’t feel guilty at all.

Levi looked up and the brat was holding in laughter.

“That’s it,” Levi muttered, jerking up but Hange and Sasha were grabbing both of his arms in an attempt to keep him down. It was best they did so, because Levi would have definitely climbed over the table.  
The shorter male relaxed, signaling for the two people on his side to let go. Once they had, he sat still for a moment before charging on top of the table.

If people weren’t looking before, they were now. The usual conversation that filled the outside eating area now reduced to whispers, watching the scene in front of them. 

Levi grabbed a hand full of Eren’s food, which was unfortunately (for Eren), lasagna. He smeared the food onto the boys face, earning louder gasps around him. It was _disgusting,_ but he couldn’t care right now.

“Sorry,” he growled, pulling his hand away, “had to wipe that shit eating grin off of your face.” Eren gaped up at him, lasagna covering the bottom half of his face. The raven was too caught up glaring into the boys eyes to notice Eren reach around him and grab Armin’s milk cartoon. When he did realize, however, the white substance was already being poured on his head. He closed his eyes as it ran down his head, soaking his hair and his clothes. When his eyes opened, he grit his teeth.

“Oh you’re so dead.” And with that, he was tackling Eren to the ground. It hurt, more for Eren than him but neither of them cared. They each were grabbing things from the table and smearing it on the other as they wrestled, and by now everyone was watching. Some even had their phones out.

Jean and Connie tried pulling them away from each other, but it was no use. They clung to each other like their life depended on it, smearing food into whatever spot they could find. 

Then, all hell broke loose when a random students voice yelled “Food fight!”

Before the group knew it, food was being thrown all around the eating area. Armin squealed and hid under the table, watching as his friends became victims of the food fight. Even other members of the team that didn’t sit with them were caught in the crossfire. Jean had ran to Marco, protecting him as if he was actually going to get hurt. Hange tried yelling to Levi, but he either couldn’t hear over the volume or he didn’t acknowledge them. Sasha had tried yelling for them to stop to, but each time she would get silenced by food hitting her face.

The students around them didn’t care where it landed, so soon everyone became covered in food, even if a little bit. Eren and Levi still were at each other on the ground, using the food that would end up on the there as defense. The area was reckless, yes, but no one was covered in food as bad as the two boys fighting on the ground.

Everyone came to a halt as a whistle played through the lunch area. Looking to the direction of the sound, there stood Principal Pyxis. 

“I can not even process what is going on right now.” He was mad. Despite how quiet he was being, the students knew well enough that they had pissed off their principal.

“I will only ask this once,” he continued, paralyzing the students. “Who is responsible?” Everyone stepped to the side, making a clearing that gave Pyxis full view of the toy boys wrestling on the ground. That was when they finally looked up.

Levi didn’t believe it. He couldn’t. There was no way he let things get this out of control. The lunch area was practically covered in food, himself included. It was nasty. It was disgusting and he was ashamed. 

“You two,” Pyxis glared, before shaking his head. “No. That whole table, come with me. Right now.”  
With Levi and Eren finally not going at each other anymore, Hange and Connie pulled them away from each other, and they all followed behind the furious principal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay who was expecting a food fight?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amends are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope there’s little to no spelling errors, also comments are appreciated. I want to know everyone’s opinions :)

How they let it get to this point? Well no one knew. No one had intended to start a food fight. 2ho actually does? Even still, here they were, covered in food as they stood in front of their principals desk in his office.

How does one even explain?

Pyxis sighed, looking over the seven students who stood in front of him. They were filthy. They were ashamed, Levi especially. He had never been one to act out on his anger and yet here he was, soaked in mixtures of god knows what. In a sense, it was ironic. Seeing a clean freak dirtied up by something as silly as food. He grimaced, at himself more than his current state.

"I don't know where to start," the older man finally said. His silence was so deafening that the seven of them wouldn't even mind hearing his scolding. Anything to fill the awkward silence as he stared at them in shame.

"How... How did it get to this? Did you guys forget what grade you're in?" He was right. Here they were, seniors, standing in the middle of the principals office because they had enacted a food fight. It doesn't get any more disappointing than that.

No one has spoken up, but it didn't seem like he wanted anyone to. He wouldn't have to hear everyone's side of the story if he just got down to the root of it.

"I want to know, and I want the truth. Who is the one responsible?"

_The million dollar question._

The blame could be on anyone, because perspective was key. Eren had pushed and pushed Levi, until the raven finally had enough. The strawberry milk accident was all on Eren, but after that? Levi didn't have to paint his face with food. So who really was to blame? It could have been on the others, too. Levi and Eren were content on ignoring each other, but the set up from yesterday made things worse. That was all on their scheming friends.

No one specifically was at fault, but that didn't matter. It would take forever explain that and Pyxis simply didn't have the time.

Levi looked to his right, noticing how Eren was hung his head down.

_Screw this._

He would simply take the blame for it. After all, it did all happen because of his failure to control his anger. The punishment would be hell, probably something along the lines of cleaning the mess, but he didn't care. If Eren wouldn't own up to it, he would.

"It was me, s-"

"I did it."

Levi's looked away from his principal to the brunet who had cut him off. He was still glaring at the floor, but there was no doubt that Eren was the one who spoke.

"It was all me," Eren continued. "I had been messing with Levi all day, and it was me who initiated the first blow. So if you're going to punish anyone, it's me. The others had nothing to do with it, they just tried to stop us." Technically, Eren _did_ initiate the first blow, but he could have very well claimed it was an accident.

"I'll think of punishment suitable enough for the group as a whole, including everyone out there," Pyxis explained. They understood. "For now, Levi and Eren you two have detention. Whoever started it doesn't change the fact you guys were still fighting."

No one even got hurt, but Levi wasn't about to object. They deserved it for acting like children. Pyxis dismissed the others to their class, all internally disgusted at the fact they had to stay the remainder of the day in dirty clothes.

Levi stood beside Eren, making sure to put some space in between them. He wondered if this would put a rift in their group. He didn't want that.

"Today, you two will stay after school and clean the mess outside. Detention tomorrow, as well." The older man informed. _Deserved._ "And Eren, Sadies will be informed."

_Brutal_ , Levi thought to himself. He secretly hoped Pyxis wasn't aware he had joined the team as well.

After what seemed like forever, but was really only a few brief seconds, they were being dismissed. They hadn't said a word to each other as they walked down the hall. They went back to their table to retrieve their bags, before changing. The only extra clothes they had were their practice clothes, and while Levi never opted for wearing sweatpants to school, it was that or damp clothes covered in lunch.

His hair was stiff with dried milk, and even remnants of whatever the hell those kids had to eat. It was filthy. He picked the food out of his locks the best he could, although it didn't satisfy him enough.

**

Levi never thought he'd be saying this, but he really wished he could go to practice.

Cleaning was second nature for him, so it's not like he was foreign to the idea of cleaning up after himself. No, that wasn't it at all. He could even deal with how big the mess actually was.

What he really couldn't deal with was how loud silence could be.

Eren was on the other side of the outside lunch area cleaning up as well, not even making any sounds of complaint. Levi wished he would. Anything other than the ruffling of trash bags would suffice. It was only until moments later when he decided he would break the awful silence.

"Why did you do it?"

Eren, mid wiping a table, turned around. "What?"

"You took the blame. That shit you pulled with the milk was your fault but last time I checked, I was the one who violently rubbed lasagna on your face." Eren chuckled, and for a second Levi thought he had been imagining it.

"Yeah," the brunet sighed. "That doesn't matter though. I wasn't just taking the blame for the food fight, by the way."

Levi stared in question, hoping Eren would explain himself some more. Also hoping he could have at least _one_ normal conversation with the boy.

"I've been such a child, Levi."

“That you have."

It didn't make Eren mad hearing Levi agreeing with him. In fact, he expected it. He wanted to hear how much of a pain in the ass he's been. "I thought pretending like I hated you would make me not want to get to know you better. It's something I've been wanting to do since I've met you, honestly."

Levi set his trash bag down. "Eren-"

"I know," the brunet interrupted, sitting on one of the seats. "I'm not asking you to feel the same way. I just wanted you to know that whatever bad things I said about you, I didn't mean it. There's a lot I don't know about you, but I know you're not a terrible person."

_Wow._

Part of him always knew Eren never really hated him, but it took a lot for the boy to swallow his pride and actually admit it. So much that Levi had started to feel sympathetic, despite today's events.

"You're blunt, some would even describe you as an asshole, but you're a good person Levi. You only acted out towards me cause I was exactly what you said I was. A brat who couldn't handle rejection." There was that word again. Levi cringed at the word, hating the way it made his stomach drop.

Levi wished Eren still 'hated him.' Because that was better than the alternative.

Levi didn't like Eren when they first met. It wasn't anything personal, he just never really associated with people with egos that big. He wanted to just see him as a teammate, the way he saw the others, but it was different. The more he hung around the boy, there were moments where Levi could catch a glimpse of the boys true character. He remembered their conversation on his porch, how Eren had blamed himself for his fathers death. Or the Eren who allowed him to rest his head in his lap, which Levi would never admit to but actually enjoyed. There's a lot of things the raven would never actually admit out loud regarding the brunet, but there were also just some things he couldn't deny.

He likes Eren Jaeger.

The thought alone scared him, because it didn't make sense. The way Eren had been acting the past week should have pushed him away and made it easier for him to deny his feelings. Truth was, he wasn't angry at Eren. Yeah the boy could have handled it better, but Levi rejected him. He had the chance to state his feelings, yet he ran from them. It's what he does.

Now, here he was, with the same chance to be honest with Eren.

"We're finished."

_'We're finished?' That's it?_

Eren tilted his head, "Huh?" Levi backed out again. He hadn't intended to, but it was like his mind was telling him it was the right thing to do. Or maybe it was the fact he was scared because he's actually able to have feelings for someone.

"I- um, we're done cleaning." Eren looked around, noticing the area was pretty much spotless, thanks to Levi. He had does his part, but the raven had better cleaning standards.

"Oh, right. You need a ride home?"

Practice wasn't over yet, so Levi could have waited for Hange to get finished to get a ride home. It seemed like the only reasonable option, but because he and Eren had somewhat made amends, he had another one.

"You're not going to run the car off a cliff with me in it, are you?" Eren chuckled and Levi was fighting so hard not to smile. He grew fond of Eren's laugh.

"Can't make any promises." Catching Levi's glare, he continued. "I'm kidding. No Levi, those hating you days are over." Levi rolled his eyes and grabbed the cleaning supplies, following the brunet into the building. Once they had returned said supplies to the janitors closet, they made their way outside and to Eren's car. There was a comfortable silence between them, to which Levi couldn't complain.

"Hey Levi?" Eren finally spoke up as they stepped into the vehicle. Levi faced the brunet and raised his brows in question. "Can I show you something?"

"Is it a bomb?"

"Levi."

"Kidding. What is it?"

Eren started the car up and began to pull out of the parking lot. "It's actually not a thing, but a place. I don't show a lot of people. In fact, Armin, Mikasa, and my mother are the only ones I let inside." Levi hummed and noticed the way Eren looked, as if he was nervous. He couldn't understand why out of all people, he was showing him, but decided not to question it.

He didn't exactly know where this place was, but he definitely wasn't expecting to be brought to Eren's house.

"I'm sure more than just Mikasa, Armin, and your mother has been inside your house," he teased. Eren rolled his eyes and chuckled, parking and getting out of the car. Levi followed suit, letting Eren lead the way. The brunet didn't head to the porch, instead walked past the house and into the backyard. He led the raven to a small building, one that looked as if it would be used as a storage of some sort.

Eren bent over and picked a stone up from the ground, revealing a key that lay underneath it. He slowly unlocked and opened the door, hesitation present as he allowed Levi to step inside.

Definitely not a storage.

It looked like a small, miniature bedroom. There was a soft carpet spread on the ground, a sofa placed against the wall, and even a mini fridge in the corner of the room. The room even had an AC unit in the window, which only made sense with how hot it could get in Shiganshina. There were other things as well that gave the room decor, such as a plant about as tall as Levi in another corner of the room and track medals hung up on the walls.

Not to mention the desk with drawings scattered on top of it.

Levi walked over to the desk, a wild variety of drawings meeting his eye. There were some animals, even some mythical type creatures that looked like something out of a movie, and even people. One drawing caught his eye, and the two people on there looked very similar to Armin and Mikasa.

Did Eren do these? Of course he did. He had the key and it was obviously his own little place. It was just hard for Levi to take in, because the boy was extremely talented.

"I don't get to draw as much as I used to." Eren said as Levi looked down at the papers. "Track takes up most of my time. Sometimes I come in here after practice or on Sundays."

It didn't seem like Eren. Out of everything, Levi would have never guessed the boy had a thing die art. He was surprised to know that not a lot of people have been in here to see his art, but he did understand. If it were him, he wouldn't want to share such things with the world.

"What can't you do?" Levi asked. He looked up at the brunet, who began walking over to the desk beside him.

"Whistle." Levi lightly chuckled, and Eren's face deadpanned. "No I'm serious. I can't whistle. See?" He attempted to make a whistle sound, but it only came out as air.

"You look ridiculous," Levi teased, shaking his head and looking back down to the drawings. He began moving the papers around to uncover some of the hidden ones, desperate to see all of Eren's talent. The brunet didn't seem to mind either, watching as Levi stared in awe. It made him blush.

Levi continued looking around until one particular piece caught his eye. He picked the paper up. "Wait no! Not that o-" Eren started, but it was too late, Levi was already holding the drawing up.

It was of him.

More specifically, it was of him that night they were on the porch. Eren was so captivated by the way Levi was looking up at the stars, the light of the moon illuminating his face. The image was stuck in his mind for a while, until he finally decided to draw it down. Nothing could ever beat actually being there to see it, but he was proud of his work nonetheless. It made him smile.

"It's me."

"It is," Eren sighed. "It's weird and you probably think I'm some creep now. I promise I'm not it's just-"

"Eren." Levi said sternly, but quietly.

"You looked so beautiful looking up at the stars like that, and I've always had a thing for drawing things I think are beautiful." Levi froze. No one had ever called him beautiful before. "I promise I'm not trying to be make this weird, or awkward but-"

"Eren." Levi spoke a little louder. The brunet finally stopped talking, watching as Levi's head turned and steel eyes met his own. He wanted to look away, or even _run_ away.

"Yes?"

Levi stared at him for a moment. No one had ever did something like this before, and especially not after only knowing them for a couple of weeks. It was... flattering.

"Why don't you finish what you started that night?"

He surprised himself to say the least, but really hoped Eren got the message. After all, he didn't think he could really say anymore. Eren furrowed his brows, analyzing the determined look on Levi's face before he got it.

_Oh._

"Wait, you want me to- but what about-" He sighed. "Are you saying I can kiss you?" Levi gave the slightest of a smirk and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you brat."

Eren gaped, but momentarily found himself leaning in. Levi set the drawing down on the desk, never breaking eye contact with the boy. He could feel his face heating up as he was getting closer, deciding her would meet the brunet halfway. Relief washed over him when their lips finally met.

It was different than he had expected. He's never kissed anyone before, but the foreign sensation wasn't exactly unwelcome. Eren's lips were extremely soft, moving slowly against his own. He felt awkward not doing anything with his hands, so he snaked them around the brunets neck, untying his bun. Eren gripped Levi's waist and pulled him closer, _moaning_ when Levi tugged at his hair. Shocked, the raven pulled away.

Eren looked down at him with nothing but lust in his eyes. Looking back and forth between Eren's eyes and lips, he finally met him in a much more heated kiss. Hands roamed through brown locks as Eren's traveled down Levi's body. He bent a little, pressing his hands on the back of Levi's thighs, picking him up and setting him on top of the desk. He positioned himself between the ravens legs, never once breaking the kiss.

Finally pulling apart, Eren trailed kisses from Levi's lips all the way down to his neck, fighting the urge to bite and suck at the skin, not knowing how Levi would feel if he left marks. The ravens mouth hung open as Eren left no part of his neck untouched, and he immediately craved more. He wrapped his legs around the taller male in an attempt to bring them closer and give much needed friction, but they were interrupted with the sound of a phone ringing. Groaning, Eren pulled away and brought his phone to his face.

"From Mikasa," he read. "'I need a ride, where are you?'"

Levi rolled his eyes. "Tell her to walk."

Eren chuckled and stepped back, grabbing his hair tie and redoing his low bun. "Come on, I'll give you a ride home."

"Tch. You better." He wasn't actually trying to come off as rude, and Eren knew this. He smiled.

"You really are beautiful."

_Damn_.

Levi tried to fight the blush as best as he could, but it was impossible. Hearing someone say such things about him and sound so genuine had quite the effect on him. Eren gasped.

"Levi Ackerman, did I just make you blush?" The raven narrowed his eyes and Eren only chuckled more. Cocky brat.

_His_ cocky brat.

It was a weird thought, but he wasn't opposed to it.

"No."

"Right," the brunet teased, and his face immediately formed into a more serious one. "What are we going to tell the others?" Levi hadn't thought about that. He was able to piece together what they did, so it was obvious they were aware of something. However, they were still sneaky little shits. Levi wasn't about to let them know they had succeeded.

"We don't tell them." Eren furrowed his brows. "They set us up, remember? If we tell them anything, they win. Not letting that happen." The brunet thought it over, but he was quickly on board.

"So we pretend like we still hate eachother?"

Levi nodded.

"Do I need to stage any more food fights?" The shorter male narrowed his eyes. "Kidding, obviously. You know, speaking of food fights." He reached his hand out and touched Levi's stiff hair. The latter groaned.

"Don't remind me. You know, did you _have_ to pour milk in my hair? I would have been fine with water but _milk?_ "

"Hey," Eren retorted defensively. "You were the one who rubbed lasagna all over my face. Getting those stains off was no fun." Levi snorted, not believing he had actually done something like that. Now that the two of them were on better terms now, it would be something they could look back and laugh at.

"I should seriously go, though," Eren continued, "Mikasa isn't patient." The brunet began to walk away, hoping Levi would follow but instead felt a grab at his wrist. The shorter male pulled him back between his legs, his face mere inches from Levi's.

"She can wait, I want you for at least five more minutes." Before Eren could answer, Levi's lips were meeting his again. Eren couldn't exactly pull away anyways, _loving_ the way their mouths moved together. It was cliche to say it gave the two of them butterflies, but there was no other way to describe it, and they were okay with that.

Accepting defeat, Eren smiled into the kiss.

**

After kissing someone they liked since the moment they met, you would think one would be ecstatic.

Not Levi.

Don’t get him wrong, he enjoyed kissing Eren. However, out of all the feelings in the world, he woke up with regret. He couldn’t help but feel as if their kiss had been moving things too fast, being completely new to relationships and all. Levi really did like Eren, and while that still scared the shit out of him, he wanted to do it right. He would make sure to talk to Eren about it, although not at school. They had to keep up their ‘hating each other’ act at school.

On his way to Chemistry, the brunet had caught his eyes, but he wasn’t alone. He was with the blonde male— Niccolo the ex, Levi remembered— and the two seemed to be rather close. It confused him to say the least, especially after hearing that the two didn’t exactly end on great terms. Maybe it was just apart of Eren’s act, but still.

Levi shouldn’t have felt a little jealous.

Slumping down in his desk, Sasha turned to face the raven. “I take it detention wasn’t any better?” _It was worth it,_ he wanted to say, but instead he just shrugged.

“The brat doesn’t learn.”

Sasha giggled a little, trying to lighten Levi’s mood. “Yeah, let’s just hope we don’t have a repeat of yesterday. There were mashed potatoes in my ear Levi. My _ear_.”

“Tch, tell me about it. I had to wash my hair twice to get the feel _and_ smell of dried milk out, and I still don’t think it’s gone completely.” The two didn’t say much after that, Levi not really be up for conversation anyways. There was something else on his mind.

“Sasha?” The girl looked over, humming in response. “What happened with Eren and that ex of his?” Sasha didn’t say anything. Levi glanced over, catching sight of the skeptical look on her face. “Oh don’t give me that. He started a food fight with me yesterday, I think I deserve the right to be nosy.”

“I guess you’re right,” she shrugged. “Well, if you’re talking about Niccolo, it’s a weird story. They dated in tenth grade, it lasted almost a year. They were both each other’s first boyfriends, and at the time Niccolo was still struggling to accept himself. They would get so much hate until it reached the point where he couldn’t handle it anymore. He broke Eren’s heart.”

_Oh wow._

The raven narrowed his eyes. “Huh. Did Eren love him?”

“You can say that, yeah. Eren was comfortable with his sexuality and was stoked when the two of them started dating. He got attached really fast.” The last part made sense, especially seeing how quick he came to liking Levi. It also made him feel nervous. Levi didn’t want to break Eren’s heart. Being new to this sort of thing, Levi knew it wouldn’t be easy, but he really hoped he could do right by the brunet.

“You sure your asking just to be nosy?” She had the slightest hint of a smirk on her face, and Levi wanted nothing more than to keep to his promise and strangle the girl. She knew why he was asking, the whole group did, but if they were going to keep up an act, him and Eren would too.

“Yes, you little shit.”

Sasha only nodded, keeping her smug expression as the teacher came in and class started.

**

“Marco just sat down, bye guys,” Jean said, standing up from his lunch table. Connie and Hange stared at him desperately, silently begging him not to leave. The last thing they wanted was to be the only ones around the two boys, who they believed still didn’t like each other.

“Stop looking at me like that,” he growled. “Just ignore them, or talk to the others. Besides, Marco wanted me to sit with his friends today.” And with that, he was off. Connie rolled his eyes.

“Marco this, Marco that. You know, I’m really started to hate _‘Freckled Jesus.’_ ” He said the last part with air quotes, and Hange furrowed their brows.

“Freckled Jesus?”

“Yeah,” Connie sighed. “It’s what Jean calls him. I can’t complain too much though. Years after pining over the guy, didn’t think he would ever get to this point.” Hange agreed and the two of them ate their food in silence, waiting for the others arrival. Soon enough, Armin and Eren were joining them.

“Hey guys- Where’s Jean?” The blonde asked. Connie pointed to Marco’s table and Armin let out a quiet ‘Oh.’ After a few minutes of very minimal small talk, Sasha and Levi had arrived. The two of them sat down, Sasha beginning to dig into her food when she noticed someone missing.

“Where’s-”

“Behind you,” Connie mumbled. She turned around, and laughed a little.

“Good for him, he looks happy.”

Lunch went on as it normally did, or at least what was considered the new normal. Very few conversations, and when there was one, it usually consisted of everyone minus Levi and Eren. The two boys exchanged glances from time to time, Levi fighting back a grin when he saw the brunet smiling at him, which he really hoped no one noticed. When silence fell upon them again, Eren finally spoke up.

“So, Levi. Gonna keep your hands off my food today?” The raven looked up, almost forgetting that the two of them had a plan.

“Depends,” he shrugged. “Gonna keep your drink in your cup and out of my lap?” The two of them couldn’t see it, but the others were rolling their eyes and Armin even mumbled out an ‘Oh my god.’ It was funny, watching how awkward it made things between everyone. Levi couldn’t help but think they deserved it, especially for secretly going behind his and Eren’s back.

While the others tried to distract themselves with their own conversations, Eren pulled his phone out under the table and typed a quick message to Levi. The raven felt the vibration and subtly checked, reading the message aloud in his head.

_‘meet me in the bathroom after lunch._ Avoiding getting caught, he quickly put his phone away and resumed eating, waiting for the bell to ring.

After what seemed like forever, it finally did and Eren wasted no time going to the bathroom, Levi following to not so quickly behind. He didn’t know what the others would think if they saw them go in together. He stepped into the room, grimacing because he really did hate school bathrooms. There was no brunet in sight, and when he turned to leave, he felt something grab his arm and pull him into a stall and locking it.

He didn’t have to question who it was, only turning so that he was not face to face with the taller boy. Eren smiled.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself.”

“You think they bought it?”

“Of course they did,” Levi answered, before speaking again. “Although they are all pretty good liars. Still, I think we sold them.”

“Good,” the brunet smiled once again. Levi _really_ liked his smile. He didn’t know what else to say, plus they were going to be late to their next class if they waited around any longer, but something else had been on Levi’s mind he wanted to talk about.

“So, I saw you with the ex this morning.” He internally face palmed. They weren’t even a thing and he was already sounding like a jealous boyfriend.

“Niccolo? You know about him?” Levi nodded. “Oh, yeah he’s been needing my help with something.” The shorter male hummed in response, looking away and forcing himself not to ask what exactly he needed help with.

“He wanted me to help him get with Sasha, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Levi looked back up, questioning if he accidentally said anything out loud. He noticed the boys smirk and rolled his eyes.

“I wasn’t wondering that.”

“Right,” Eren teased. “Levi, we’re you jealous?” He didn’t seemed troubled in the slightest, even finding amusement in it. _Shitty brat_.

“Of course not. You can talk to whoever the hell you want, brat.” Eren chuckled and stepped closer, if that was even possible with how small the stall was. Levi’s heart rate sped up, because ever since last night, no matter how much regret he felt, he couldn’t stop thinking of the way Eren had kissed him.

“I like talking to _you_.” His grin was now gone, and he was staring at Levi in such a way that the raven could have his way with him right there. He quickly reminded himself where they were at.

“Levi?”

“Yes?”

“Can I kiss you?”

That shouldn’t have made Levi’s heart flutter.

He nodded, meeting the taller male halfway and connecting their lips. His body relaxed, slowly increasing their movements. Eren snaked his arm around Levi’s back, pulling him closer and leaving no distance between them. He knew no one was in here with them, but even then he couldn’t find it in him to care. When the same thoughts from this morning clouded his mind, he eventually pulled away.

“We shouldn’t here.” Eren nodded, pushing back the black strands of hair that had fell in front of the ravens face. He opened the door, peeking to see if anyone around, which they weren’t, and they exited the stall.

“Will you call me tonight?” Levi nodded, thinking it would be a good opportunity to say what he felt like he needed to. Eren smiled and stole one last kiss before he left the bathroom. _What a dork_. Levi snorted and shook his head, waiting a few seconds before he left as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look our boys are almost together :’)


End file.
